First crypto fund approved in Switzerland

The introduction of cryptocurrencies continues to gain momentum in Switzerland as local tax authorities issue more regulatory approvals for crypto investment instruments.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has approved the Cryptocurrency Market Index Fund as the “first crypto fund under Swiss law”, as the agency officially announced on May 29th.

The fund was launched by the Swiss asset management company Crypto Finance and managed by the asset management company PvB Pernet von Ballmoos AG under the supervision of SEBA Bank AG.

FINMA notes that the newly approved fund is restricted to qualified investors who mainly invest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets “based on blockchain or distributed ledger technology”.

The regulator said the Cryptocurrency Market Index Fund can only invest in top cryptocurrencies with “a sufficiently large trading volume”. According to Crypto Finance, the fund will track the performance of the Cryptocurrency Market Index 10, a product managed by SIX Swiss Exchange.

“The goal of the Cryptocurrency Market Index 10 is to measure the performance of the largest and most liquid crypto assets and tokens and to provide an investable benchmark for the asset class,” noted Crypto Finance.

Related: SEBA Bank has issued Switzerland’s first custody license for digital assets (crypto)

FINMA added that it will require investors to only invest through established partners based in a member state of the Financial Action Task Force and subject to anti-laundering regulations.

In addition to the fund approval, FINMA has also approved SEBA Bank AG as an institutional custodian bank by granting the company a CISA approval. Before that, the authority officially authorized the SIX Swiss Exchange at the beginning of September to launch a digital marketplace and central securities custody based on distributed ledger technology.