Switzerland’s financial regulator FINMA announced on 20 October 2026 that it had approved the country’s first retail exchange-traded fund investing directly in Bitcoin. FINMA did not name the fund or its issuer or give a launch date.
FINMA exempted the fund from risk diversification rules, citing Bitcoin’s long trading history and high trading volume compared with other cryptocurrencies. Under FINMA’s guidance, a Swiss custodian bank generally must hold a Swiss fund’s Bitcoin; any third-party custodian must meet equivalent oversight and bankruptcy-protection requirements. Firms selling the fund must warn buyers about volatility and possible losses and check that the product suits them.
