FINMA waived the diversification rules for the fund but leaned hard on custody and investor-protection safeguards. FINMA announced it approved the country's first retail fund that invests directly in Bitcoin.
In brief Posted: 12:32 PM PDT · October 20, 2026 Switzerland’s financial regulator FINMA announced Oct. 20 that it approved the country’s first retail exchange-traded fund that invests directly in Bitcoin. The fund received an exemption from risk diversification rules, which FINMA justified by Bitcoin’s long trading history and high trading volume. FINMA did not name the fund or its issuer, and said other providers have submitted or announced applications for Bitcoin ETFs. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, announced Tuesday that it approved the country’s first retail fund that invests directly in Bitcoin. It’s an exchange-traded fund or ETF, so its shares trade on an exchange like any listed stock. Under Swiss law, FINMA classified it as an “other fund for alternative investments” with a specific risk. Myriad: How high will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction . FINMA cleared a crypto fund back in September 2021, the Crypto Market Index Fund, but sales were restricted to qualified investors rather than the general public. It invested mainly in a basket of crypto assets, not Bitcoin alone. Under the guidance, a Swiss custodian bank generally has to hold a Swiss fund’s Bitcoin. It can hand safekeeping to a third-party custodian at home or abroad, but that custodian needs equivalent oversight of its financial soundness and equivalent bankruptcy protection for crypto assets. Translation: if the custodian goes under, the coins can be separated from its estate. Firms selling the fund have to follow the conduct rules of Swiss financial services law at the point of sale. That means clear warnings about volatility and the risk of losing money, plus a check that the product suits the buyer. FINMA says that’s more protection than buying crypto directly.