This mysterious campaign, allegedly staged by private individuals, aimed to stop the implementation of new rules on digital asset trading scheduled for 2023.
From January 1, 2023, there will be a limit of CHF 1,000 per business day for the exchange of virtual currencies for cash or other anonymous means of payment in Switzerland. For higher amounts, the customer must identify himself. The adjustment corresponds to the regulatory provisions planned or already enacted in the other EU countries. As Cointelegraph reported in German, it is generally expected for all EU countries that crypto service providers must perform customer due diligence for transactions above €1,000.
The Swiss regulator is not impressed
As the news portal finews.ch has investigated, the campaign launched by the “crypto-citizens” seems to have had a central origin in Switzerland. The letters and e-mails sent are largely identical and apparently only copied. The dispatch consists of approximately 100 letters and e-mails in German from persons domiciled in Switzerland, as well as another 50 in French.
The content of these almost identically worded objections is summarized as follows: “I am a Swiss citizen and I am deeply concerned about the proposed changes as I and my relatives increasingly use cryptocurrencies. It discriminates against those who want to convert their monthly salary into euros. I am shocked that there has been no analysis to explain the proposal and I reserve the right to take legal action should it go ahead.”
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (FINMA), as a supervisory authority, also found the complaints unusual in their current form. It is likely that someone prepared the text and posted it centrally on a website for individuals to copy and send, the agency said.
As usual in such cases, FINMA analyzed each objection individually and assessed whether the concerns should be taken into account in the upcoming order. The final answer on the subject was clear: the reinforced rules will come into force as they are at the beginning of 2023, as planned.