Swiss Financial Authority Limits Crypto Transactions To A Maximum Cash Of IDR 15.6 Million

Swiis authorities limit the maximum cryptocurrency transactions to cash. (photo: dock. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has announced it will extend anti-money laundering regulations requiring identity checks to report certain crypto transactions.

In a November 2 notification, Swiss financial regulator said it would impose a threshold of 1,000 Swiss francs of approximately IDR 15.6 million, for virtual currency transactions to cash or other anonymous payment tools.

According to the FINMA, regulators make adjustments in accordance with the Anti-State Money Laundering Act and the government's Anti-Money Laundering Act.

FINMA received many responses regarding threshold specifications for transactions with virtual currencies, the FINMA said as quoted by Cointelegraph. Given the risks and instances of recent abuse, FINMA adheres to the rule that technical measures are needed to prevent the CHF 1000 threshold from being exceeded for related transactions within thirty days.

The Swiss financial regulator has begun to impose a reporting threshold for unidentified virtual currency transactions from 5,000 to 1,000 CHFs in January 2020 in response to the increasing risk of money laundering in crypto. The FINMA will extend its adjusted order and regulations, which are scheduled to take effect in January 2023.

The southern city of Lugano Switzerland is hosting a crypto-related Plan B conference that began on October 28, where local governments announced economic cooperation agreements with El Salvador - the Central American nation will form a physical government presence in the area, which some have dubbed 'Bitcoin Embassy'.

Cointelegraph reports on how local crypto enthusiasts have visited Lugano's retail location to show cases of use for the Lightning Network and crypto assets as payments.