While other regulators are still in "wait and see"
mode, on 16 February 2018, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory
Authority FINMA published guidelines on initial coin
offerings (ICOs) in response to the wave of enquiries that
FINMA has been receiving in relation to ICOs planned or executed in
Switzerland.
In a move which will be widely welcomed by the sector, FINMA
makes clear that financial market law and regulation are not
applicable to all ICOs. In the corresponding press release, it
states that "depending on the manner in which ICOs
are designed, they may not in all cases be subject to regulatory
requirements. Circumstances must be considered on a case-by-case
basis."
Switzerland does not currently have any ICO-specific regulation,
relevant case law or consistent legal doctrine. However, as set out
in its previous FINMA Guidance 04/2017, there
are several areas in which ICOs are potentially impacted by
financial market regulation.
