The Swiss Parliament took an important step this September: it passed amendments updating local laws and serving as a basis for blockchain operations. The Swiss Blockchain Federation celebrated the unanimous decision.
The changes have been unanimously approved, according to Swiss Info, and should come into effect next year. The matter began to be debated in the Swiss Parliament at the end of last year. But local authorities published a report on the subject as early as 2018.
The news paves the way not only for DeFi (decentralized finance), a segment that is experiencing a boom, but also for the emergence of a series of digital assets, evaluates the site. Among these changes are, for example, bankruptcy and securities trading rules.
‘Set of rules among the most advanced in the world’.
To Coindesk, Rolf H. Weber, professor of financial market law, explained that bankruptcy rules will allow owners to turn to the authorities to recover their digital assets.
“This is not possible today with digital tokens because, with tokens, you have no proof of ownership. It looks like money. You can never extract or withdraw money from a bankrupt state”, said Weber, who also heads the Swiss Blockchain Federation’s regulatory affairs group.
“Next year, Switzerland will have a set of rules that is among the most advanced in the world”, said Heinz Tännler, president of the Swiss Blockchain Federation. Tännler also said that this change will ensure legal certainty and more room for innovation in the sector.
Switzerland uses a different strategy from Liechtenstein in blockchain rules
According to the executive, the crypto environment in Switzerland has 900 companies and generates 4.700 jobs. Switzerland even has a Crypto Valley. The city of Zug earned this nickname after attracting a number of companies in 2017 during the boom in initial currency offerings (ICOs).
The approval of the new rules comes at a time when Europe is discussing digital means of payment and assessing the creation of a digital euro.
As Switzerland’s neighbor, little Liechtenstein has comprehensive blockchain legislation. However, Swiss Info points out that Switzerland has not done as its neighbor, which has created new laws. But it has only changed existing texts to adapt them to the blockchain.
