Switzerland plans to legislate on Bitcoin and financial technology regulation, aiming to remove barriers to entry and attract more companies

The Swiss national railway service (SBB) may have jumped on the Bitcoin train, but Swiss regulators are taking a slow approach and now appear to be looking to regulate digital currencies and financial technology.

A few days ago, a piece of news from Swiss railway operator SBB dominated the headlines - SBB decided to start selling Bitcoin through its ticket machine network on November 11. Today, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) announced plans to pass legislation to regulate financial technology (Fintech) sometime next year.

The legislative plan mainly includes a new licensing scheme specifically for financial technology companies and a so-called experimental company regulatory sandbox. Under the proposed policy system, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority will become the main regulator of financial technology companies in Switzerland.

However, there are still some issues that need to be resolved. In the statement, the FDF said that they will seek to conduct additional research investigations on Bitcoin and other digital currencies and the wider application of blockchain.

The agency said:

“…the FDF will work with other interested government agencies to further reduce market entry barriers for financial technology companies, as well as clarify relevant financial market laws (e.g. laws on virtual currencies and asset handling).”

At the press conference, Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer argued that the proposed fintech legislation would help attract more companies to Switzerland — and Switzerland’s relaxed fintech stance has already attracted some blockchain startups to call the country home.

According to Reuters, Maurer said:

“We think that with the measures we have prepared and our commitment to the entire financial services industry, we can provide a solution that makes Switzerland a top country for regulating financial technology.”