Swiss markets watchdog approves first crypto assets fund

ZURICH, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Switzerland’s financial markets supervisor said on Wednesday it had approved the country’s first fund that invests primarily in crypto assets.

The Crypto Market Index Fund is restricted to qualified investors and categorised under “other funds for alternative investments” with particular risks, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said in a statement.

Crypto assets are based on the blockchain or distributed ledger technology.

“In order to facilitate serious innovation, FINMA applies the existing provisions of financial market laws in a consistently technology-neutral way,” it added, thus ensuring that new technologies are not used to circumvent existing rules.

Since crypto assets involve particular risks, FINMA said it had tied the approval to specific requirements, including that the fund may invest only in established assets with a sufficiently large trading volume.

Investments also must be made through established counterparties and platforms that are based in a member country of the Financial Action Task Force and are subject to corresponding anti-money laundering regulations, FINMA said.

Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

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