Does a crypto business in Switzerland need to join an SRO (e.g. VQF)?

When a crypto business is a financial intermediary

The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) applies to banks and other licensed institutions, and to the parabanking sector listed in art. 2 para. 3: anyone who, on a professional basis, accepts, holds on deposit or helps to invest or transfer assets belonging to third parties. FINMA has confirmed since its 2018 ICO Guidelines that payment tokens and crypto transfers fall within this scope.

In practice, the activities that most often trigger the AMLA for crypto businesses are:

• buying and selling crypto against fiat or other crypto for clients (exchange, broker, crypto ATM);
• custodial wallets, where the business controls the private keys or can dispose of client assets;
• transferring crypto or fiat on behalf of clients (payment services, payouts, OTC desks);
• asset management of client portfolios that include crypto.

When the activity is professional

The AMLA only applies if the activity is carried out professionally. The criteria are set in the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO, art. 7), which looks at gross revenue, number of contracting parties, assets under power of disposal and transaction volume in a calendar year. For money and value transfer, including crypto transfers, the AMLO treats the activity as professional in almost all cases. Check the thresholds against the current text before relying on them.

Since 1 January 2020 there is no longer the option of direct AMLA supervision by FINMA for parabanking intermediaries: SRO affiliation (art. 14 AMLA) is the only route for those without a prudential licence. The affiliation must be in place before the activity begins.

What SRO membership involves

SROs are recognised and supervised by FINMA (art. 24 AMLA) and issue their own AML regulations, which members must follow. VQF and PolyReg have long experience with crypto members. The application usually requires a description of the business model, fit and proper documents for directors and the compliance officer, internal AML directives and a risk analysis.

Once admitted, the member is subject to periodic AML audits by an auditor approved by the SRO, mandatory training, reporting duties to MROS and ongoing compliance with the SRO regulations, including the Travel Rule for crypto transfers.

Who does not need an SRO

Non-custodial software providers, pure technology vendors, miners selling their own production and businesses accepting crypto only as payment for their own goods are generally not financial intermediaries. The boundary depends on the facts: a fiat on-ramp or a recovery key held by the company can change the analysis. A written assessment, and where useful a FINMA ruling, avoids operating without the required affiliation.

Why it matters elsewhere

The Swiss model shows that crypto businesses can be brought under AML supervision without a full licence: self-regulatory bodies, supervised by the state regulator, admit members, set detailed rules and audit them periodically. In a country with no crypto rules, SRO regulations are a ready benchmark for your own AML directives. Regulators designing a first VASP regime can see how the model keeps AML duties separate from prudential licensing.

How Advisorn helps

Advisorn assesses whether your model falls under the AMLA, prepares the SRO application file (including AML directives and risk analysis) and supports you through admission and the first audits.