First 45-minute meeting, CHF 200, deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.
CAS Digital Finance Law, UNIGE
FINMA, AMLA, SROs
Tokens, DAOs, smart contracts
French, English, German
In a Web3 project, the legal questions are settled before launch, whether it is a matter of classifying the token, choosing the structure or checking the anti-money laundering obligations. A first conversation lets us understand where the project stands and set out the points to be decided, in complete confidence.
The theft or misappropriation of digital assets falls within our fraud and asset recovery practice, the company and its contracts within business law. Data and IT contracts are covered on the digital law page, licensing on the regulatory law page.
Payment, utility or asset token. The classification depends on the token’s economic function, and it determines the obligations toward FINMA and under anti-money laundering law.
Company, foundation or association, in Switzerland or elsewhere. Governance, token allocation between founders, team and investors, documentation.
SAFT, token warrant, convertible loan or capital increase. Drafting and negotiation with investors, without losing control of the project.
Custody, exchange, transfer or payment. Membership in a self-regulatory organization or a FINMA license, to be checked before the service is launched.
SaaS or cloud contract, AI agent, personal data, provider liability. Drafting, negotiation, then action if the provider fails to perform.
Criminal complaint, on-chain tracing and freezing requests to platforms, in Switzerland and abroad.
Matthias Traussnig holds the CAS in Digital Finance Law from the University of Geneva and spent three years at the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Canton of Geneva. A Web3 project is analyzed down to its mechanics, and its risks are assessed the way an authority would read them if the project were ever challenged.
Token, smart contract, flow of funds. How the project works is understood before it is classified.
Money laundering, fraud, criminal mismanagement. Risk areas are flagged before launch, at a stage when they can still be corrected.
Where the classification is uncertain, the inquiry to FINMA is prepared with a complete analysis of the project.
If a project goes wrong, the criminal complaint, the freezing of funds and the civil action are handled by the same firm.
Drawn from the firm’s matters, anonymized.
Funds move quickly from one address to the next, but the blockchain keeps a record of every transfer. Criminal complaint, blockchain tracing, a request for a freezing order and coordination with exchanges to follow the money, in Switzerland and abroad.
Recovering stolen crypto → 02 · DigitalA Swiss company’s access keys were hacked and used at its expense. The cloud bill reached several hundred thousand francs. It was challenged with the provider and a criminal complaint was filed, the two proceedings pursued in parallel, each one supporting the other.
Read the analysis → 03 · M&AThe transaction had to close within a few days. A short deadline is no reason to skip checking the target company, its contracts and its assets. Due diligence and the transaction documents were completed within the set deadline, and the investment went ahead without delay.
Corporate law & M&A →« Very responsive and professional lawyers. Present in the Web3 and blockchain ecosystem for several years, with an excellent understanding of our challenges and expectations. »
Every matter is different. The outcome of a past case does not predict the outcome of another.
It depends on the economic function of the token, not on its technology. FINMA distinguishes payment, utility and asset tokens. An asset token is treated as a security, a payment token triggers the Anti-Money Laundering Act. We classify the token, prepare an inquiry to FINMA where useful and structure the issuance accordingly.
Yes. Since February 1, 2021, the Code of Obligations has allowed rights to be recorded in a distributed electronic register as ledger-based securities (Art. 973d et seq. CO), whether shares, bonds or units. The right can then only be exercised and transferred through that register, which must in particular be protected against any unauthorized modification (Art. 973d paras. 1 and 2 CO). You need a registration agreement, a compliant register and adapted articles of association, which we draft.
Anyone who, on a professional basis, accepts, holds on deposit or helps to transfer assets belonging to third parties is a financial intermediary (Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA). This is the case, in particular, of anyone who helps to transfer virtual currencies to a third party, where they maintain a lasting business relationship with the client or have power of disposal over the virtual currencies on the client’s behalf, and do not provide the service exclusively to adequately supervised financial intermediaries (Art. 4 para. 1 let. b AMLO). Such an intermediary must join a self-regulatory organization (Art. 14 para. 1 AMLA). We carry out the analysis and handle the affiliation.
The client can claim the crypto-assets that the bankrupt party had undertaken to hold available to the client at all times, if they are individually allocated to the client or if the client’s share in a pool is clearly determined (Art. 242a paras. 1 and 2 DEBA). If the bankruptcy administration disputes this right, it sets a 20-day deadline to bring an action at the place of bankruptcy, failing which the claim lapses (Art. 242a para. 3 DEBA). How the assets are held should therefore be checked before they are entrusted.
Yes, as soon as it processes personal data. From the design stage, the controller puts in place technical and organizational measures so that the processing complies with data protection rules (Art. 7 para. 1 FADP). Where the intended processing is likely to result in a high risk to the personality or fundamental rights of the data subject, in particular when new technologies are used, a prior data protection impact assessment is required (Art. 22 paras. 1 and 2 FADP).
Trace the funds on-chain, identify the platforms that received them, file a criminal complaint for fraud and money laundering (Arts. 146 and 305bis SCC) with a request for a freezing order, and seek mutual legal assistance where the money has gone abroad. Speed is the key factor for success, as funds can be moved to another address within hours. Our fraud and asset recovery practice handles these cases.
A structuring memo or a legal opinion is priced as a fixed fee, set after a first 45-minute meeting (CHF 200, deducted from the first invoice if you retain us). You know before we start what you will pay and what you will receive. For projects that evolve, monthly support is possible.
A first 45-minute meeting, at CHF 200, lets us understand where the project stands, identify the legal and regulatory points to be decided and estimate the cost, in complete confidence. The amount is deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.
First 45-minute meeting, CHF 200, deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.