Regulation Of Swiss Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published guidance on how to apply Swiss financial markets laws in the context of Swiss ICOs. Such guidance assists in how to structure the sale of tokens and coins in Switzerland.

1 INTRODUCTION

In Switzerland – as in many other jurisdictions – ICOs are not governed by a regulatory framework specifically designed for such transactions. Rather, FINMA has repeatedly stated that it will not distinguish between different technologies used for the same activity (Technologieneutralität), i.e. that FINMA will apply the principle of "same business, same rules" to any kind of activity in connection with blockchain-based tokens or coins.