Swiss Non-Profit Issues Guidelines for Crypto Custodians

Capital Markets and Technology Association (CMTA), a Swiss non-profit, has issued on Thursday common guidelines for cryptocurrency custodians in the country.

Dubbed Digital Assets Custody Standard, the primary goal of the guidelines is to clarify the difference between storing digital currencies and traditional assets.

The non-profit also believes that the custody industry needs some baseline operational and security requirements to mitigate risk exposure.

“This will greatly contribute to the emergence of fully digital capital market infrastructures, including integrated custody and secondary trading venues. The benefits of the digitalization of the financial industry are such that the evolution towards decentralized infrastructures​ seems inevitable,” Fedor Poskriakov, general secretary of CMTA, said.

A young yet impactful organization

The Geneva-based non-profit was formed in 2018 with an aim to promote the adoption of Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term technology and digital assets in the financial markets.

The association also believes that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can also get help from decentralized technology as it can simplify and democratize their financial mechanisms.

CMTA also highlighted the difference between centralized and decentralized technologies and pointed out that crypto custodians need to provide higher levels of security assurance as the platforms use cryptographic technology to store assets.

With the guidelines, the non-profit is trying to secure the legal side of the Swiss crypto industry which will ultimately help it to promote the technology and services.

Meanwhile, multiple European regulators are also trying to bring frameworks for the crypto industry.

Earlier, BaFin, the financial market regulator in Germany, classified digital assets as financial instruments, and also clarified licensing procedure for crypto custodians.