Swiss DLT Act regulation

Regulation · PageRank 0.0015

Also known as: Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in DLT

Overview

The Swiss DLT Act is the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology, adopted by the Swiss Parliament in September 2020. Rather than a single standalone statute, it is a blanket act amending several existing federal laws, and it entered into force in two stages: the amendments to the Code of Obligations, the Federal Intermediated Securities Act and the Federal Act on International Private Law on 1 February 2021, with the remaining provisions on 1 August 2021. Its best-known innovation is the ledger-based security (Registerwertrecht), created by entry in an electronic register meeting statutory requirements for functional safety and integrity, and transferable purely by on-chain transfer with the same legal effect as a negotiable instrument. The second stage introduced a DLT trading facility licence, extended the FinTech licence to collectively held crypto-based assets, and widened the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Within the DeFi Intel graph, Swiss DLT Act connects to 2 tracked entities, most strongly to Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Switzerland.

Relations

Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 2 of 2 total).

Frequently asked questions

When did the Swiss DLT Act enter into force?

In two stages — 1 February 2021 for the amendments to the Code of Obligations, the Intermediated Securities Act and the International Private Law Act, and 1 August 2021 for the remainder.

What is a ledger-based security under the Act?

A right registered in a qualifying electronic register that can be transferred solely by transfer on the ledger, carrying the same legal protection as a negotiable security.

What licence did the second stage introduce?

A DLT trading facility licence, alongside an extension of the FinTech licence to collectively held crypto-based assets.