Liechtenstein has already introduced a Special Blockchain Act, one of the first in the world, which is to be enacted in early 2019.
Current Status
- Unlike in Switzerland, where regulatory recommendations (though no legal provisions) have already been developed, no detailed ICO Guidelines documents apply in Liechtenstein at the moment.
- According to the ICO/TGE factsheet, token emission is subject to approval by Liechtenstein‘s Financial Market Authority (FMA) within several months, depending on the complexity of the project.
- The FMA works professionally, efficiently and cooperatively.
Purpose of regulation
- “The law is aimed at creating a legal framework for the token economy, not only to regulate ICO and cryptocurrency.”
- “Liechtenstein aims to increase the attractiveness of its own economy through the introduction of new technologies, one of which is blockchain.”
- “The task of the government is to create the most favorable conditions for the prompt entry into force of the Blockchain Act”, says Head of the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Adrian Hasler.
Regulated services
- Token emission.
- Token issue.
- Private keys storage for third parties.
- Physical validators (between token and tokenized assets).
- Protectors (holding tokens in its own name on account of third parties).
- Exchange operators (token-fiat-exchange and token-token-exchange).
- Checkpoint service providers (checking ability to conclude the deal and the preconditions to sell tokens).
- Pricing services providers.
- Identity service providers (identifying the authorized person of public keys and token registry).
State approval will be required for any type of services while requirements specified by Blockchain Act have to be fulfilled.