Switzerland’s financial regulator, FINMA, has cleared the country’s first exchange-traded fund for retail investors that invests directly in bitcoin, the regulator said on Tuesday. It did not name the issuer or a launch date, and said other fund providers have submitted or announced applications for bitcoin ETFs.
The change is about who may buy, not what is held. FINMA’s only earlier crypto fund approval, in September 2021, was for qualified investors and held a basket of coins. The fund wrapper is where demand has been in the US: spot bitcoin ETFs there took in $526.7 million on Monday alone, according to Farside data in Monday’s ETF Desk.
Under Swiss law the product is an “other fund for alternative investments” with a specific risk, FINMA said. Because bitcoin has a long trading history and high trading volume compared with other cryptocurrencies, the regulator granted an exemption from the usual risk-diversification rules, which normally cap how much of a fund can sit in one asset.
The exemption comes with conditions. Supervised institutions must limit operational and custody risks as set out in FINMA guidance of 12 Jan 2026, fund documents must explain the risks clearly, and sellers must follow the Financial Services Act (FinSA) rules of conduct, including suitability checks. “FINMA emphasises that investments in Bitcoin – even through an approved ETF – remain highly risky,” the regulator said.
Other regulators are moving the same way. Thailand’s securities regulator issued its own crypto ETF rulebook this month, starting with bitcoin and ether.
For a primer on the structure and on how crypto custody works, see what a spot bitcoin ETF is. FINMA warned that, because of bitcoin’s volatility, investors in the fund could see much of their capital wiped out.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.