Meaning
A comprehensive statutory reform enacted by the Swiss Federal Assembly establishes legal certainty for uncertificated ledger-based securities and licensed digital asset trading facilities. Enforcing the swiss dlt act amends the Swiss Code of Obligations to allow securities to be registered directly on distributed ledgers with robust proprietary rights upon debtor bankruptcy. The legislation introduced the uncertificated ledger-based security, which links rights directly to a digital ledger without requiring traditional paper certificates or central depositories.
The framework covers banking law, financial market infrastructure, and international private law to support institutional digital asset markets.
Ledger Requirement
Ledger-based securities require a registration agreement between the issuer and the token holders to establish legal validity under Swiss law. The underlying distributed ledger must meet strict technical criteria ensuring data integrity, functionality, and operational decentralization. Token holders must hold the autonomous power to verify entries and transfer their securities without dependence on the discretionary intervention of the original issuer.
Bankruptcy Segregation
Custodians holding digital assets on behalf of clients are subject to strict statutory segregation rules under Swiss banking and debt collection statutes. In the event of a depository institution’s insolvency, digital assets and ledger-based securities are separated from the custodian’s bankruptcy estate for the direct benefit of the registered owners. This protection applies provided the custodian maintains clear records showing the assets belong to individual clients and ensures the holdings are segregated from proprietary firm balances.
Trading Infrastructure
The legislation established a specialized financial market infrastructure licensing category known as the DLT trading facility. These licensed venues can offer multilateral trading, clearing, settlement, and custody services for digital assets directly to retail and institutional participants without requiring intermediary broker-dealers. Regulators require facility operators to implement trading surveillance, operational resilience measures, and anti-money laundering controls to obtain authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
