Swiss regulator approves first crypto investment fund
The Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) has approved the first crypto fund under Swiss law.
The Crypto Market Index Fund invests primarily in crypto assets and is available to qualified investors.
The regulator has categorised the product as "other funds for alternative investments" with special risks.
The authority applied existing rules to the fund and linked the approval to specific requirements.
For example, the fund can only invest in established crypto-assets with a sufficiently large trading volume. In addition, investments must be made through recognised counterparties and platforms that are located in a FATF member country and are subject to the relevant rules, the press release said.
The Crypto Market Index Fund was launched by Crypto Finance in collaboration with PvB asset manager Pernet von Ballmoos. SEBA, a licensed cryptocurrency bank, acted as custodian.
The investment product tracks the performance of the Crypto Market Index 10 from SIX Swiss Exchange, Switzerland's largest stock exchange. The metric is based on the quotations of the cryptocurrencies with the highest liquidity.
As a reminder, Crypto Finance's subsidiary received a broker-dealer licence from FINMA in February. This allowed the firm to open trading in digital assets to big players.