Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has revealed that the most significant change from the new rules to be passed with respect to countering money laundering is to lower the threshold value for crypto exchange transactions even as the crypto market struggles to distance itself from the infamous reputation of being a platform for crime and money laundering. The New Financial Service Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) that came into force on January 1st, 2020 included Federal Council approved ordinances, namely Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO), Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) and Supervisory Organizations Ordinance (SOO). The FINMA proposes an amendment in its Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO-FINMA) where it looks to change the client identification threshold values from CHF 5000 to CHF 1000, a move that will lead FINMA to implement the international standard as declared in mid-2019 in managing the heightened money laundering risks in the crypto industry. This intention of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority is in line with the skeptical statements made by the country’s Federal Council regarding the use of cryptocurrency and crypto exchanges. The authority concluded that new risks that would hamper the financial stability of the nation would be created by technology. The analysis conducted for the report further illustrated that central bank digital currency could have far-reaching repercussions, which can vary based on how it is designed. It concluded that better solutions could be developed in the concerned areas.
