Swiss Regulations Are Driving ICOs Away
Ever since ICO mania exploded in early 2017, Switzerland has served as Europe’s de facto crowdsale launchpad. Financial authorities have welcomed crypto startups, and the likes of Tezos, Mysterium, and Arcblock have all heeded that call. Guidelines laid out by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in February were meant to add clarity for ICOs. Instead, they’ve had the opposite effect.
Anti-money laundering regulation gives rise to a range of due diligence requirements including the requirement to establish the identity of the beneficial owner and the obligation either to affiliate to a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) or to be subject directly to FINMA supervision. These requirements can be fulfilled by having the funds accepted via a financial intermediary who is already subject to the AMLA in Switzerland and who exercises on behalf of the organiser the corresponding due diligence requirements.
In plain English, this means that ICOs must use a Swiss company to perform KYC on all ICO participants, which is where the problems have started. With only a handful of companies in a position to perform such checks, these entities effectively hold a monopoly. The average cost for a KYC check ranges from between $0.6 to $2 within the ICO space – but Switzerland is an exception. Accredited bodies are charging up to $25 per check, leaving projects that have already made the decision to host their crowdsale in Switzerland in an awkward position.
source: https://news.bitcoin.com/swiss-regulations-are-driving-icos-away/
Ever since ICO mania exploded in early 2017, Switzerland has served as Europe’s de facto crowdsale launchpad. Financial authorities have welcomed crypto startups, and the likes of Tezos, Mysterium, and Arcblock have all heeded that call. Guidelines laid out by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in February were meant to add clarity for ICOs. Instead, they’ve had the opposite effect.
Anti-money laundering regulation gives rise to a range of due diligence requirements including the requirement to establish the identity of the beneficial owner and the obligation either to affiliate to a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) or to be subject directly to FINMA supervision. These requirements can be fulfilled by having the funds accepted via a financial intermediary who is already subject to the AMLA in Switzerland and who exercises on behalf of the organiser the corresponding due diligence requirements.
In plain English, this means that ICOs must use a Swiss company to perform KYC on all ICO participants, which is where the problems have started. With only a handful of companies in a position to perform such checks, these entities effectively hold a monopoly. The average cost for a KYC check ranges from between $0.6 to $2 within the ICO space – but Switzerland is an exception. Accredited bodies are charging up to $25 per check, leaving projects that have already made the decision to host their crowdsale in Switzerland in an awkward position.
source: https://news.bitcoin.com/swiss-regulations-are-driving-icos-away/
If that is true then definitely something should be done to change that. Regular ICO participants can't afford paying $25 for a KYC check. Or, even if they could, why would they do that when it's possible to pay from $0.6 to $2 in other places?
Switzerland has almost became the ICO capital of the world, but because of the greed of those accredited bodies who have the right to perform the KYC check in the country Switzerland now may quickly lose its leading position in the business.
