Tokens and Decentralized Finance: Legal Regulation Specificity in the Swiss Confederation

Digital technologies have long been an integral part of economic and social relations. For example, it’s difficult to imagine modern society without various alternative means of payment. The widespread distribution of tokens and the development of cryptocurrency markets have significantly influenced the further development of the economy and law. Many loyal jurisdictions for the development of crypto business, such as the Swiss Confederation, in an effort to gain influence on the crypto asset market, adapt legislation regarding the regulatory regulation of digital (virtual) assets. The purpose of the study is to consider the current trends in the legal regulation of tokens in Switzerland under the influence of global trends in the crypto market, taking into account classification approaches. As a result of the conducted research, it became obvious that Switzerland, as the so-called «European crypto valley», seeks to provide a solid legal basis for the effective use of distributed registry technology and the widespread use of crypto assets. However, despite the constant development of legislation in terms of regulating the circulation of crypto assets and ensuring law enforcement practice in this area, the Swiss Confederation is currently still in the process of forming a holistic legal regulation of asset tokenization, since the adopted regulations regulate only certain aspects of the circulation of crypto assets and ICO.