Everything is well on the Swiss side! The Swiss authorities continue to give additional regulatory permits for cryptocurrency investing. This time, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced that the first crypto fund had been authorized.
The Crypto Market Index Fund has been authorized by FINMA. However, the fund is only available to eligible investors. Furthermore, the fund was designated as “other funds for alternative investments” with certain risks.
In a news release, FINMA claims,
In order to facilitate serious innovation, FINMA applies the existing provisions of financial market laws in a consistently technology-neutral way,” it added, thus ensuring that new technologies are not used to circumvent existing rules.
This is the first time FINMA has approved a fund that invests primarily in blockchain-based assets.
As a result of these special risks, FINMA requires that any certification on a crypto asset fund come with certain restrictions. Similarly, investments made through established platforms headquartered in a Financial Action Task Force member nation are subject to the same anti-laundering rules.
Furthermore, according to FINMA, the Crypto Market Index Fund may only invest in top cryptocurrencies with high trading volumes. Furthermore, the fund will assist in tracking the performance of the Crypto Market Index 10.
To be clear, the Crypto Market Index 10 is a product managed by the Swiss exchange SIX. In addition, FINMA recently announced its approval for regulated Swiss exchange SIX to develop a blockchain-based digital asset marketplace and central securities repository.
We previously announced that FINMA authorized SEBA Bank as an institutional-grade custodian service by awarding the company a CISA license.
