Legacy and outlook

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Crypto Valley has left a durable mark on the Swiss financial centre. It brought a new industry to a small canton, forced the regulators to develop a vocabulary for a new asset class and led to the DLT Act, which recognised ledger-based securities in civil law and secured crypto-assets in insolvency before most other jurisdictions had acted. It made Zurich one of the first places where central bank money was used on a distributed ledger for the settlement of real transactions. It also showed that the traditional institutions of the financial centre, from the cantonal banks to the stock exchange, can integrate a new technology once the legal framework is clear.

The shadows are equally visible. The ICO boom exposed the limits of the foundation model and of foundation supervision, while a number of projects that raised money in Zug disappointed their investors. The travel rule and the demanding standards of FINMA have made Switzerland a safe place to hold crypto-assets, at the cost of procedures that clients from other jurisdictions often find cumbersome. The volumes of tokenised securities remain small. The most successful Swiss products, the exchange-traded products on crypto-assets, are traditional instruments with a new underlying.

The next years will be shaped by three developments. The reform of the Financial Institutions Act will decide whether Switzerland can offer a regime for stablecoins and crypto service providers that is competitive with the European framework under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The continuation of Project Helvetia will decide whether wholesale central bank money on a ledger becomes a permanent feature of the Swiss market infrastructure. The banks’ stablecoin sandbox will show whether the established institutions can create a franc instrument that finds users on public blockchains. In all three areas Zurich holds a strong position, since it hosts the banks, the exchange group, the regulator’s main counterparties and the specialised bar that will translate the new rules into practice.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Legacy and outlook

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