Crypto Fund AG, a subsidiary of Crypto Finance AG, is now the first and only crypto company to receive authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA under the Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act CISA.
The news follows June’s announcement that Crypto Fund AG is supervised under the AMLA, now Crypto Fund AG is under prudential supervision.
CEO and co-founder of parent company Crypto Finance AG, Jan Brzezek: “The FINMA authorization for Crypto Fund AG is a key step for our clients and investors, and for us in becoming a leading provider of digital asset services worldwide.”
What does Crypto Fund’s asset manager authorization mean for investors and crypto assets?
As an asset manager of collective investment schemes, Crypto Fund AG is authorized by FINMA to manage and distribute domestic and foreign investment funds to qualified investors and provide investment advice for institutional clients. “The authorization represents our professional work over the last 12 months and is a major milestone for us. Our thanks go, above all, to our partners who made this ground-breaking authorization possible and to FINMA for the good cooperation,” said Mathias Maurer, COO of Crypto Fund AG.
The step to authorization as an asset manager of collective investment schemes by FINMA raises the bar for crypto companies in Switzerland and abroad. Without such an authorization, the activities of crypto companies are limited in Switzerland and are only subject to fulfilling compliance with money laundering regulations; however, this does not address prudential supervision over all activities or the organization of the crypto company.
With this authorization, the crypto asset playing field has shifted, as Jan Brzezek comments: “The importance of crypto assets is growing and our aim is to accelerate maturity in these markets. Regulatory recognition remains highly sought after by participants, as seen in recent press and company statements.” FINMA authorization is an important acknowledgment of Crypto Fund AG and for crypto assets around the world, coming from a country inextricably linked to banking and financial service expertise.
Crypto Fund AG Board of Directors is strengthened with the appointment of Professor Fabian Schär.
Furthermore, Crypto Fund AG is very pleased to announce the addition of Professor Fabian Schär to the Board of Directors. Professor Schär is currently Director of the Center for Innovative Finance CIF at the University of Basel in the Faculty of Business and Economics. His research areas include applications based on blockchain technology such as smart contracts, the transfer of financial assets in blockchain-based units (tokens) and further aspects of distributed ledger technology DLT. He is the author of the book “Bitcoin, Blockchain und Kryptoassets“.
“We very much appreciate the technological expertise Fabian will bring to the Board“, says Tobias Reichmuth, President of the Board of Crypto Fund AG.
