Swiss law classifies tokens by their economic function, following the FINMA ICO Guidelines of February 2018. Payment tokens are means of payment and trigger anti-money laundering rules; utility tokens give digital access to an application or service and are not securities if usable at issuance; asset tokens represent claims or rights such as shares, debt or profit participation and are usually treated as securities. A token can combine functions (hybrid) and is then subject to all relevant rules.
The three categories
- Payment tokens (cryptocurrencies): intended as a means of payment for goods or services or for value transfer, with no claim against an issuer. FINMA does not treat them as securities, but issuing or transferring them is a financial intermediary activity under the AMLA.
- Utility tokens: provide digital access to an application or service on a blockchain. If they have only this function and the service is operational at issuance, they are not securities. If they also have an investment purpose or the platform does not yet exist, FINMA may treat them as securities.
- Asset tokens: represent assets such as a debt or equity claim on the issuer, a share of future revenues or capital flows, or tokenised physical assets. They are treated as securities when standardised and suitable for mass trading.
Why the classification matters
Classification determines which rules apply to the issuer and to anyone dealing in the token. Securities status brings prospectus duties under FinSA for public offers, potential licence requirements for dealers and trading venues, and market conduct rules under FMIA. Payment tokens bring AMLA duties, SRO affiliation and the Travel Rule. Tokens that create a repayment claim, such as some stablecoins, can raise banking law questions.
Stablecoins and the DLT Act
The 2019 supplement to the ICO Guidelines applies the same substance-over-form approach to stablecoins: depending on the underlying assets and the redemption claim, a stablecoin may be a deposit, a collective investment scheme, a derivative or a security. The 2021 DLT Act created ledger-based securities (art. 973d Code of Obligations), giving a clear civil law basis for tokenised rights, and the DLT trading facility licence for trading them.
How to obtain certainty
FINMA assesses each case on its own facts. Issuers can submit a request with the information listed in FINMA's ICO checklist, supported by a legal opinion. The Swiss classification is not the same as MiCA's categories (asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens, other crypto-assets): a token offered in both markets needs both analyses.
Why it matters elsewhere
The Swiss approach looks at what a token does, not at what it is called, and accepts that one token can have several functions. Many regulators apply a similar substance-over-form test, so the three categories are a useful first filter even where no specific guidance exists. An issuer in a less-regulated jurisdiction that documents its token's function along these lines will have a clearer answer for exchanges, banks and future regulators.
How Advisorn helps
Advisorn prepares token classification opinions under Swiss law and, where relevant, under MiCA, and prepares the submission to FINMA if a formal assessment is advisable.
FINMA ICO Guidelines (16 February 2018); Supplement on stablecoins (11 September 2019); FINMA Guidance 06/2024 on stablecoins; DLT Act (2021); Code of Obligations, art. 973d; FinSA; FMIA, art. 2; AMLA.
Updated November 2026 · General information, not legal or tax advice on your specific case.