The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has issued a new supervisory communication outlining the risks and requirements for the custody of crypto-based assets, reflecting a broader global momentum in 2026 where clearer regulations, enterprise adoption, and blockchain interoperability are shaping the digital financial landscape.
The current increase in the demand of the customers to trade in, invest in, and store cryptocurrency safely has given the institutions under the regulatory supervision of FINMA a request for the extension of their crypto-related business.
The areas of risk encompassed by communication relate to the custody of assets like Bitcoin and Ether, which arise as a result of the distributed ledger technology involved. Specialized knowledge and infrastructure are needed for this regarding that bitcoin and ether have fallen further on Monday.
Crypto Assets Custody Risks and Regulatory Safeguards
Where custody services are provided abroad, FINMA warns, additional legal complexities can emerge, particularly if a custodian becomes insolvent.
The communication stresses that secure custody requires appropriately supervised service providers both in Switzerland and internationally, alongside clear rules to protect customers in insolvency scenarios. The final responsibility for choosing and utilizing such service providers rests with the licensed financial institution.
Timing of the guidance from FINMA is coinciding with the assessment that 2026 is a critical year for digital assets. Digital payments including crypto, growth of stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and deposit tokens as well as tokenized assets, are increasingly underpinning financial market infrastructure.
Global Trends Driving Digital Financial Market
Clarity in regulation is a huge catalyst. In 2025, Singapore and the UAE set the tone for regulating digital assets, and Europe, Hong Kong, and the US formulated rules for stablecoins. The introduction of the GENIUS Act in the US, for instance, has catalyzed other jurisdictions to accelerate their advisories. With the incoming Clarity Act in the US, the structures for the digital asset markets will be further clarified, allowing enterprises to scale up responsibly.
Stablecoins appear to represent the link between fiat and decentralized currencies and have seen considerable growth in transactions. Though cryptocurrency trades represent the majority market, there is still ongoing experimentation in the areas of central bank digital currencies and deposit tokens.
Meanwhile, tokenized assets from funds and bonds to real estate and carbon credit is gaining momentum. Larry Fink and Rob Goldstein of BlackRock have stated, “tokenization can greatly expand the world of investable assets beyond the listed stocks and bonds that dominate markets today.”
Convergence between conventional financial institutions and DeFi spaces is also on the rise. The launch of JPM Coin, the USD deposit token, by JP Morgan and the integration of Citi Token Services with real-time cross-border USD clearing by Citi are cases in point.
In asset tokenization management, fintech, payment service providers, and investors, distributed ledger technology is being leveraged to smoothen operations, increase transparency, and decrease transactions’ cost.
With the increasing crypto assets focus on regulatory certainty, the year 2026 looks like the start of scaling traditional financial institution solutions for digital assets, integrating blockchain into business operations, and establishing frameworks across international boundaries. It has been suggested that all stakeholders focus on making financial systems secure, transparent, and inclusive.
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