Bitcoin Suisse Has Applied For a Banking License in Switzerland

Bitcoin Suisse, a cryptocurrency broker and one of the first residents of the Swiss “Cryptodollins”, applied for a banking license.

The company announced that it had applied for a banking license with the Swiss Financial Market Supervision Authority (FINMA), as well as with a securities dealer license, as provided for by the Securities and Exchange Act (SESTA) Act.

In the past, financial authorities and the Swiss Federal Assembly have stated that the technology of the blockchain and the distributed registry will be governed by existing laws. However, a representative of the company Bitcoin Suisse said:

“We believe that in the long term there will be more regulation as soon as the legislation catches up with technological developments in the industry. We believe that in this new regulatory environment, companies that do not have the necessary licenses will have limited opportunities to serve customers with a full range of high-quality, innovative cryptocurrency financial products and solutions. ”

The company said that these licenses will expand the number of regulated services and products that it can offer, as “more and more cryptoactive assets and services are subject to the legislation on securities and banking.” Currently, a company representative declined to comment on specific assets, but noted:

“The license of a securities dealer would allow us to trade cryptocurrency tokens that the financial regulator has classified as securities. This list will also include our own Swiss Crypto Franc.

As part of the Swiss banking recommendations, the company announced that it had deposited 45 million Swiss francs as collateral against the bank guarantee by default. She plans to increase this reserve by 10 million Swiss francs, exceeding the mandatory limit. This money will help provide fiat and cryptocurrency funds to customers.

“The cryptocurrency regulation industry in Switzerland is very safe. The Federal Assembly and FINMA have a very constructive approach that encourages innovation in the long term, ”said a company spokesman.

The company applied for licenses after it expanded the list of tradable assets to 125 cryptocurrencies, which made it possible to create more than 6,000 trading pairs, and after the firm entered the secured lending and lending markets for institutional clients last year. In addition, in the spring, Bank Frick and Bitcoin Suisse launched
cryptocurrency index fund.