The legislative body of the Swiss government, the Federal Assembly, has approved a motion to instruct the Federal Council to adapt existing legislation for cryptocurrency regulation. Coitelegraph auf Deutsch reported on the development on March 20. The motion introduced by Liberal assemblyman Giovanni Merlini intends to instruct the Federal Council to adapt existing provisions on procedural instruments of judicial and administrative authorities, so that they can also be applied to cryptocurrencies. The Council approved the motion introduced with 99 to 83 votes in favor and 10 abstensions. The move aims to close perceived gaps in protecting cryptocurrency users from illicit …

Cybersecurity solutions provider Kudelski Security has entered a strategic partnership with smart contracts auditing firm Hosho in order to provide greater security for blockchain ecosystems. The news was announced in a press release from Kudelski on March 19. As Cointelegraph auf Deutsch previously reported, Kudelski Security — a Swiss-born, stalwart tech security solutions provider whose multinational operations run from locations across Europe and the United States — launched a Blockchain Security Center (BSC) this January. Kudelski, which has expertise in the field of applied cryptography, says it established the partnership with Las Vegas-based Hosho in order to extend the capabilities …

Leading Swiss online retailer Digitec Galaxus has announced that it will now accept cryptocurrencies, according to a press release published on March 19. Per the announcement, the shop is now accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Litecoin (LTC), Tron (TRX), NEO (NEO) and OmiseGO (OMG) for purchases worth over CHF 200 (about $200). The release further claims that the shop hosts around 2.7 million products, ranging from wheat beer to gaming PCs. The new payment method was reportedly jointly developed as part of a pilot project with Swiss payment processor …

International banking authority the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) has issued a warning statement on crypto assets on March 13. The BCBS is a committee of banking supervisory authorities hosted and supported by the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) — an organization made up of 60 of the world’s central banks In today’s statement, the committee warned that the robust growth of the crypto industry could potentially “raise financial stability concerns and increase risks faced by banks.” The committee noted the risks were present despite the crypto market’s currently small scale in relation to the scope of the …

Switzerland’s largest stock exchange SIX will reportedly launch another crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) for XRP, crypto outlet The Block writes Monday, Mar. 11. Amun AG, a Swiss crypto startup that launched the world’s first listed crypto index product on SIX last November, has confirmed the information to The Block. According to the startup, the XRP ETP will soon be launched under the ticker AXRP. As of press time, SIX has not confirmed the information to Cointelegraph. Co-founder and CEO of Amun AG Hany Rashwan told another crypto media outlet, Coindesk, that the company has also received SIX’s approval to launch …

Global market infrastructure provider Deutsche Borse Group, Swiss state-owned telecoms and ICT firm Swisscom, and Swiss and Singapore-based fintech company Sygnum have entered into a strategic partnership to build out a compliant financial market infrastructure for digital assets. The development was announced in a joint press release published on March 11. The new initiative will reportedly focus on creating a distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based ecosystem to support the nascent tokenized economy, which, the partners contend, “has the potential to reshape global financial markets.” The forthcoming ecosystem will reportedly span compliant digital asset issuance and custody solutions, as well as providing …

Swiss banking group Swissquote has revealed its plans to launch crypto custody services in late March, according to the company’s 2018 business results report, published on March 8. According to the report, the company has been trading five major cryptocurrencies since 2017 and is now introducing a crypto custody service. The new feature is set to launch on March 21. According to the report, customers will be able to transfer crypto from external wallet to their account at Swissquote and vice versa. As the document the states, the move will let the company “become a secure and technologically fully integrated …

Switzerland's principal stock exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange, has chosen to use blockchain consortium R3’s Corda Enterprise platform for its forthcoming blockchain-powered digital exchange. The news was revealed during the R3-hosted Corda Day event in Singapore on March 6. The SIX Swiss Exchange sees roughly 4.62 billion Swiss Francs (CHF) (~$4.6 billion) in daily turnover, and has a market capitalization of over 1.67 trillion CHF ~($1.6 trillion). As Cointelegraph reported in July 2018, SIX previously unveiled its plans to launch a digital asset ecosystem, dubbed Six Digital Exchange (SDX). In February 2019, the company announced it would be testing blockchain integration …

Blockchain property transaction platform blockkimo Ltd along with two other companies have jointly completed “the first” real estate transaction on a blockchain in Switzerland. The development was announced by blockimmo in a blog post on Mar. 1. Blockimmo, proptech company Elea Labs Ltd. and digital assets service firm Swiss Crypto Tokens Ltd. have conducted a blockchain-based real estate transaction — consisting of 18 apartments and a restaurant — at a cost of 3 million Swiss francs ($2.98 million). The property was reportedly tokenized, which means that its real asset value is now represented digitally on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain in …

Switzerland's primary stock exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange, has launched trading of an Ethereum (ETH)-based exchange-traded product (ETP) on March 5, according to SIX Group’s website. Amun Ethereum (AETH) ETP Listing on SIX Swiss Exchange. Source: SIX Group Backed by the Swiss startup Amun AG, the new Ethereum-based ETP will be trading under the index AETH. The management fee of Ethereum ETP will amount to 2.5 percent. SIX Group’s Ethereum ETP was first announced in November 2018, with SIX Swiss Exchange revealing that it will list five cryptocurrency-based ETPs, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ethereum. …

Swiss cryptocurrency industry organization the Crypto Valley Association (CVA) is investigating allegations of foul play by one of its members after the platform closed down last month, CVA officials confirmed in a statement on Feb. 28. According to its website at press time, Blue Trading, also known as BlueTrading, shuttered investment services after what it described as a software malfunction, discovered Feb. 21, caused widespread losses of funds. At the same time, the platform’s owner, BluVenture Group Ltd., has faced considerable controversy over its legitimacy claims from international finance bodies. “The CVA has been approached by various persons regarding the …

The Swiss fintech market grew by 62 percent in 2018, according to a recent study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences published on Feb. 27. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences undertook an in-depth review of Switzerland's fintech market for the fourth time. The report dubbed "IFZ FinTech Study 2019" reveals that on a global scale the cities of Zurich and Geneva remain in second and third place for the best cities for fintech, respectively. The fintech sector inside the country grew 62 percent over the previous year. Per the analysis, Switzerland had 356 fintech companies in 2018, compared …