The Swiss financial supervisor (Finma) said Wednesday that it has given the green light to the country’s first regulated cryptocurrency investment fund, reserved for qualified investors.
“For the first time, Finma has approved a Swiss fund that invests primarily in cryptoassets, that is to say in assets based on the blockchain or distributed ledger technology,” the authority said in a statement as it unveiled the “Crypto Market Index Fund.” The fund covers “alternative investments” on established crypto platforms in an asset class which Finma noted involves particular risks.
“The investment fund enables clients of innovative wealth and asset management firms to participate in this upcoming asset class and to further diversify their portfolio in a secure and regulated way,” Bernadette Leuzinger, Ceo of Asset Management at Crypto Finance, stated.
The investments of the new Fund must be made through consolidated counterparties and platforms which are based in a member country of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and are subject to the corresponding anti-money laundering regulations. They will also be subject to strict reporting requirements. The GAFI is an intergovernmental body dedicated to the fight against money laundering that includes 37 states, the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The fund will track the performance of Crypto Market Index 10, administered by the SIX Swiss Exchange and designed to reliably measure the performance of the largest liquid crypto assets and tokens and set a benchmark for the asset class. The company is headquartered in the tech canton of Zug, near Zurich, known in blockchain circles as Crypto Valley for having become home to a number of crypto-friendly tech companies in recent years. The Swiss regulator has taken a more flexible approach to crypto assets than the authorities of many other states.
