DLT Act Switzerland: What It Means for Distributed Ledger Technology

When we talk about the DLT Act Switzerland, a 2020 legal framework that clarified how distributed ledger technology can be used in finance and business under Swiss law. Also known as the Blockchain Act, it doesn’t regulate Bitcoin or Ethereum directly — it removes legal uncertainty for the systems that run them. Before this law, Swiss courts had no clear way to handle digital assets stored on decentralized ledgers. Was a token a security? Could a smart contract be enforced? The DLT Act answered those questions with precision — and made Switzerland one of the few places in the world where blockchain projects could operate without guessing at the rules.

The law doesn’t just cover crypto. It applies to any distributed ledger technology, a system where data is stored across multiple nodes without a central authority, used for record-keeping in finance, supply chains, and even identity management. That means even non-crypto applications — like land registries or medical records — benefit from legal clarity. It also created a new license category for DLT trading facilities, regulated platforms that allow trading of tokenized assets like shares or bonds without needing a traditional stock exchange license. This opened the door for Swiss fintechs to build tokenized asset markets legally, something no other country had done at the time.

Why does this matter to you? If you’re holding tokens, running a DeFi project, or even just using a wallet that interacts with Swiss-based services, the DLT Act gives you legal ground to stand on. It doesn’t guarantee safety — scams still exist — but it means your rights as a digital asset holder are recognized. Swiss regulators don’t ban crypto; they build infrastructure for it. That’s why companies like Ethereum Foundation and Chainlink moved operations there. The law treats digital assets as property, not currency, which makes it easier to settle disputes, transfer ownership, and enforce contracts.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real-world examples of how this law shapes what’s possible. From how Swiss-based exchanges handle token listings, to how privacy-focused projects navigate compliance, to why some airdrops target Swiss users first — it all ties back to this framework. You won’t find fluff here. Just clear, practical insights into how the DLT Act Switzerland affects the crypto world you’re already using.