DLT Legislation
Coverage of Switzerland's DLT legislative framework — the Federal DLT Act, the eight statutes it amended, FINMA regulatory implementation, and ongoing legislative developments.
Switzerland’s Federal Act on Adaptation of Federal Law to DLT Developments — the DLT Act — entered into force on 1 February 2021 and fundamentally reshaped the legal landscape for distributed ledger technology in Swiss law. The Act amended eight federal statutes to create legal certainty for DLT securities, protect crypto custody clients in insolvency, and establish a new regulated market infrastructure category: the DLT trading facility.
This section covers the Swiss DLT legislative framework in depth: the statutory text and its interpretation, the Federal Council’s legislative intent, FINMA’s supervisory practice, and the ongoing evolution of Switzerland’s DLT law.
EU MiCA vs Swiss DLT Act: Regulatory Comparison
Introduction
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and Switzerland’s Distributed Ledger Technology Act represent two of …
FINMA Sandbox: Innovation Space for DLT Startups
Introduction to the FINMA Sandbox
Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) operates a graduated regulatory entry framework that has …
FINMA Stablecoin Guidance: Regulatory Classification
Introduction to FINMA’s Stablecoin Framework
Stablecoins — cryptographic tokens designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset such as …
Swiss AML Rules for Crypto: 2026 Update
Introduction to Swiss AML for Digital Assets
Switzerland’s anti-money laundering framework, anchored in the Anti-Money Laundering Act …
Swiss Crypto Tax Rulings: Federal and Cantonal
Introduction to Swiss Crypto Taxation
Switzerland’s tax treatment of cryptographic assets and distributed ledger technology-based instruments has …
Swiss DeFi Regulation: Current Framework
Introduction to Swiss DeFi Regulation
Decentralised finance — the ecosystem of financial applications built on distributed ledger infrastructure that seeks to …
Swiss FinIA: Financial Institutions Act Overview
Introduction to FinIA
Switzerland’s Financial Institutions Act (Finanzinstitutsgesetz, FinIA), effective since 1 January 2020, established a unified …
Swiss FinSA and DLT: Financial Services Act Impact
Introduction to FinSA and Distributed Ledger Technology
Switzerland’s Financial Services Act (Finanzdienstleistungsgesetz, FinSA), which entered into …
Switzerland's AMLA and Crypto: Anti-Money Laundering Obligations for DLT Businesses
Switzerland's Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA/GwG) applies to crypto and DLT businesses with the same force it applies to banks. Any person who professionally accepts or holds third-party assets — including cryptocurrency — is a financial intermediary under Swiss law, subject to due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, and Travel Rule obligations that carry criminal penalties for non-compliance.
The Swiss DLT Act: A Complete Analysis of the World's Leading DLT Legislation
On 1 February 2021, Switzerland became the first country in the world to bring distributed ledger technology fully within its mainstream statutory framework. …