Switzerland publishes official guide to stable coins, what does this mean for Libra

Facebook's David Marcus, in a July hearing at the US Senate hearing on Libra, said Libra, a Swiss non-profit organization, has been in touch with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner – the latter Retorted that Libra did not actually contact them at all.

However, Libra eventually contacted Finma, the Swiss financial market regulator, to inquire about the legal status of the stable currency and applied for a license for the payment system.

You might think they should do this before they announce their projects to the world. But late is better than not.

On Wednesday, September 11, FINMA released their official guide to stabilizing coins. In the guide, they made it clear that they were answering requests from Libra, but at the same time it covered a broader area of ​​stable currency.

Official guide overview

FINMA is flooded with most of these statements in the guide: "The following are rules that have been reasonably applicable."

The last paragraph of Section 2.1 states that tokens may need to be registered as banks, money machines and securities:

FINMA found that under the Banking Act (BA; SR 952.0) or the Collective Investment Planning Act (CISA; SR 951.31), “stable coins” projects usually require a corresponding license.

In addition, the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA; SR 955.0) is almost always applicable because of its purpose as a means of payment. If a significant payment system is initiated during the creation of a “stable currency”, it should be licensed under the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FMIA; SR 958.1).

Section 2.2.1 stipulates that a stable currency linked to fiat money at a fixed redemption rate (eg 1 token = 1 Swiss franc) is regulated as a bank deposit and you need to obtain a bank licence.

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When redemption requirements may depend on price development—for example, when contemporary coins are linked to a basket of currencies (as Libra plans to do), all gains and losses on price development must be borne by the issuer, otherwise the tokens will be a collective investment plan. (Libra plans to retain investment profits in the association.)

In the Libra white paper, Libra hopes to establish a payment system only if Libra authorized dealers can directly redeem Libra tokens instead of end users. The last paragraph of Section 2.2.1 of the Official Guide appears to be directed at Libra:

A “stable currency” can trigger triggers under other financial market regulations (together with AMLA requirements) if it does not anticipate the explicit redemption requirements of the token holder, but is based on an alternative stabilization mechanism. In particular, if an important payment system is foreseen, an FMIA license is required.

Section 2.3 looks a bit sharp, and it feels like it is "a stable currency project may run."

This is not for Libra, but it does solve many suspicious stable cryptocurrency items:

From time to time, FINMA was asked to evaluate the “Stabilized Coins” project, which claims to invest ICO's proceeds in certain assets, apparently to achieve stability and even add value, although the rational mechanism for this stabilizing effect is not obvious. Investors often get a commitment to investment opportunities here. Such advertisements are often suspicious in nature. When such projects are carried out in Switzerland or from Switzerland, FINMA may take enforcement measures.

Appendix 1 is “Additional Minimum Requirements for Inquiries about 'Stabilized Coins'” – FINMA's questions for stable currency issuers appear to have been written with Libra:

● Token holders' value stability and claims

How does the expected value stabilization mechanism work (please provide technical and legal details)?

When contemporary coins are linked to a basket of assets: How is the share of the value of the individual token holder calculated?

Does the token holder have a clear right to the underlying asset?

If so, what is the legal nature of the token holder’s claim (please include contract terms and documents)?

If so, how does the token redemption or return mechanism work?

●Target assets

Are these assets only kept or invested? Who manages or holds the underlying assets? If investing, which financial instruments do they invest in?

Who has the legal rights and right to use the underlying assets? In what way?

Who is responsible for the risks, profits, and expenses of the underlying asset management?

Appendix 2 lists the categories of stable currencies. Category 2 seems to match Libra – "linked to a basket of fiat currency/cryptocurrency, redemption requirements depend on price development." According to the Banking Act, the issuer's account will be regulated as a deposit; the token holder's The account will be regulated as a collective investment plan.

What does this mean for Libra?

Libra needs to register as a bank and a payment service provider (a remittance company). It may not require a collective investment plan to be registered as a retail investor.

FINMA clearly states:

“In the entire project ecosystem, the highest international anti-money laundering standards need to be ensured.” Libra in particular needs an “international cooperation attitude”.

Therefore, the effective result is that Libra will be a token for the well-documented end-users in highly regulated, rich countries, but not in poorer countries.

I doubt Libra's cooperation in Switzerland is easier than in the United States. Switzerland is the first world country to work under a regulatory agreement in developed countries. And the corresponding rules have been well established.

The framework for stabilizing coins is usually reasonable, which allows other regulators to recognize them later, and feels that they can start doing some work from stable coins.

Source: Gemi chain

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