Swiss government’s internet finance protection agenda includes Bitcoin regulation project

Baozou Commentary : In order to attract blockchain and Bitcoin companies and deepen the development of Internet finance, the Swiss Federal Council announced the relaxation of regulatory policies. The Swiss Federal Ministry of Finance will formulate and submit a regulatory draft to the Federal Parliament; the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority will also make corresponding adjustments and formulate a three-step strategy to implement its regulatory responsibilities. Based on the existing advantages of Internet finance development, the ultimate goal is to take the world's leading Internet finance regulatory program.

Translation: Annie_Xu

The Swiss Federal Council has called for lowering the barriers for Internet finance companies to enter the domestic market, which will have a profound impact on the government's virtual currency regulation.

The Swiss Federal Council held a meeting and instructed the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) to draft a consultation document to lower the regulatory threshold for Internet finance companies that want to enter the country.

The Swiss Federal Council is a seven-member executive committee, which is actually the Swiss cabinet; its purpose is to further develop Internet financial technology and attract Bitcoin and blockchain start-ups.

Here are some excerpts from the meeting announcement:

"The FDF should work with other government agencies that wish to participate to discuss in detail how to lower the barriers for Internet financial companies to enter the domestic market; including areas outside of financial market regulations (such as the regulation of virtual currencies and virtual assets)."

Internet finance license

In line with the goals of the Swiss Federal Council, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) will be adjusted.

Based on this, a three-step strategy was developed:

1. The retention period of funds in the settlement account is stipulated to be two months. The users of these funds are usually crowdfunding service providers;

2. Create an innovation zone - the sandbox, where FINMA will not intervene in public funds of Internet finance companies with less than 1 million Swiss francs (equivalent to about 1.2 million US dollars);

3. FINMA issues new Internet finance licenses.

Finance Minister Ueli Maurer spoke at a conference in the Swiss capital Bern, announcing that the FDF will submit draft legislation to the Federal Parliament in mid-2017 after the public consultation is completed.

"We believe that through these initiatives and our commitment to the financial services industry, we can develop world-leading internet finance regulatory solutions."

Before the government announced the protection of the development of Internet finance, the Swiss rail operator announced that more than 1,000 ticket sales points would support Bitcoin payments. The trial project will last for two years. The Swiss town of Zug, which has been piloting Bitcoin payments for municipal services, will also participate in this project.