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Field notes from the world's crypto capital
Plain-language reads on Swiss crypto regulation, Crypto Valley ecosystem reality, and what holding crypto in Switzerland actually involves — written for globally curious readers, not industry insiders.
Recent Field Notes
All posts →- regulation
What Is the CLARITY Act? A Plain-English Summary (October 2026)
The CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) is the US crypto market-structure bill. It passed the House in July 2025 and stalled in the Senate on 15 September 2026. What it does, who it changes things for, and where it stands.
- holding
What Is Form 1099-DA? The Crypto Tax Form, Explained Box by Box
Form 1099-DA is the IRS form US crypto brokers send for your digital asset sales. What it reports for 2025 and 2026 sales, what each box means, and how it maps onto Form 8949.
- ecosystem
What Crypto Valley Actually Looks Like in 2026: 1,766 Companies and One Very Expensive Lake
The CV VC report counts 1,766 blockchain companies. Switzerland captured 47% of European crypto VC in 2025. But what does Crypto Valley actually look like in 2026? A field note on the numbers, the geography, and the gap between the brochure and the place.
- ecosystem
The UBS Swiss Franc Stablecoin Sandbox: What It Actually Enables for CHF Crypto Rails
Six Swiss banks including UBS and Sygnum launched a CHF stablecoin sandbox in April 2026; SIX and TWINT joined in September, taking it to nine. Here is what the pilot actually tests, why deposit tokens and stablecoins are different things, and what this means for Switzerland's crypto payment rails.
- regulation
Two New FINMA License Categories Proposed: What the Crypto-Institution License Means in Practice
Switzerland proposed two new FINMA-supervised license categories in late 2025: the crypto-institution license and the payment instrument institution. Here is what they actually mean for exchanges, custodians, and the firms that have been operating under SRO oversight.
- regulation
FINMA's Crypto Guidance 01/2026: What It Actually Means for Custody (Not the Legal Version)
FINMA published Guidance 01/2026 on crypto custody in January 2026. Here is what the circular actually requires — asset segregation, foreign custodian rules, and what changes for individuals holding crypto via Swiss institutions. Plain language, not a law firm memo.
- regulation
Switzerland's CARF Delay Explained: What 2027 Really Means for Swiss Crypto Holders
Switzerland put CARF on the statute book and then switched it off for a year. The rules do not apply in 2026 at all, and implementation can start on 1 January 2027 at the earliest. Here is what that means in practice: what your bank is and is not collecting, and what a Swiss crypto holder should actually do with the window.
- holding
What CARF Actually Reports About You: A Plain Reading of the Framework for Individuals
When CARF runs, your Swiss exchange or bank collects your name, TIN, tax residency, and aggregate transaction data. Here is a plain-language breakdown of exactly what gets reported, how individual reporting differs from entities, how CARF compares to FATCA and CRS, and why the Swiss postponement means none of it is happening in 2026.
- regulation
Does MiCA Apply in Switzerland? A Field Note on the Border
Short answer: no, MiCA does not directly apply in Switzerland, because Switzerland is not in the EU or the EEA. But in 2026 MiCA still reaches Swiss firms and holders in three concrete ways — and the 1 July transitional deadline, now past, turned that reach into something firms had to act on.
- holding
Using Crypto Day-to-Day in Zug: What Actually Works and What's Still Friction
Zug is famous for letting you pay taxes in Bitcoin. But what about coffee, groceries, or parking? A field note on which crypto payment channels actually function in daily Zug life, where the friction still lives, and what the adoption reality looks like beyond the headlines.
- regulation
MiCA vs FINMA: A Field Note from Someone Who Watches Both
MiCA and FINMA are not competing for the same thing. Read side by side across a single border, the two regulatory frameworks differ in ways that are real — and not what most comparisons get right.
- ecosystem
The 6 Streets in Zug Where Most Crypto Deals Happen
A geographic field note on Zug's crypto infrastructure: the six streets where blockchain companies cluster, deals get made, and the whole Crypto Valley ecosystem actually runs. With specific addresses, office occupants, and the history attached to each.
- ecosystem
Why a USDT Transfer on TRON Can Burn 13 TRX — and How Energy Rental Cuts That by Up to 85%
Sending USDT on TRON the default way burns 6.5 to 13 TRX per transfer. Here is how TRON's energy and bandwidth model actually works, why burning TRX is the expensive path, and how the energy rental market cuts the cost by up to 85% — explained for people who do not live inside crypto.
- holding
Declaring Crypto on Your Swiss Tax Return: What "Market Value on December 31st" Actually Means
Every Swiss canton tax form asks for the market value of your crypto on December 31st. A plain-language field guide to where you find that number, multiple wallets and non-CHF assets, staking and DeFi — plus what CARF reporting means for you as an individual holder in 2026-2027.
- holding
What Is a Crypto Card — and Why the Swiss One Has a Hidden Tax Advantage
A crypto card lets you spend digital assets like a normal debit card. But in the US and UK, every swipe is a taxable disposal — a quiet accounting nightmare. In Switzerland, a private investor spending through a crypto card triggers no capital gains event at all. A field note on what crypto cards actually are, which ones a Swiss resident can get, and the tax line that makes the Swiss version genuinely different.
- ecosystem
Which Crypto Conferences Actually Matter If You Live Near Zug (2026)
A field note on the crypto conferences worth the train ticket from Zug in 2026 — Crypto Valley Conference, Web3 Banking Symposium, Point Zero Forum, and the ones you can skip. Dates, locations, and which crowd actually shows up.
- holding
The Swiss Crypto Tax Advantage: Capital Gains Free, But Wealth Tax Is Real — A Plain-Language Guide
Switzerland exempts private investors from crypto capital gains tax — that part is real. But wealth tax applies to your entire crypto portfolio every December 31st, staking income is taxed as ordinary income, and staying classified as a private investor takes active attention. A plain-language field guide to all three.
- holding
NFT Tax Treatment in Switzerland: The Three-Tier Framework Collectors and Creators Need to Know
Switzerland's NFT tax framework applies three different treatment tiers: private collectors, professional traders, and creators. Capital gains may be tax-free — but wealth tax, income tax, and VAT each apply depending on how you hold, trade, or mint.
- ecosystem
CV Labs and the Zug Co-working Scene: Is the Crypto Valley Hype Real?
CV Labs claims 200+ tenants and the title 'heartbeat of Crypto Valley.' Is the hype real? A field note on what the Zug co-working scene actually looks like — the density, the community events, and why some crypto companies in Zug are not in CV Labs at all.
- holding
DeFi Tax Treatment in Switzerland: Liquidity Providing, Yield Farming, and Governance Tokens Field Notes
Switzerland's DeFi tax framework remains piecemeal in 2026. This field note walks through liquidity providing, yield farming rewards, governance token airdrops, and impermanent loss — applying staking precedent and SFTA general crypto guidance where no DeFi-specific rules exist.
- holding
What Getting a Crypto-Friendly Bank Account in Switzerland Actually Takes
Switzerland now has two very different kinds of crypto-friendly bank: high-threshold crypto-native institutions (AMINA, Sygnum, Bank Frick) and a fast-growing mainstream tier (Swissquote, Yuh, PostFinance, UBS) any resident can open. A plain-language field note on which one you actually need, the real thresholds, and the KYC depth behind each.
- regulation
Switzerland After FTX: How FINMA Responded and What It Changed
FTX collapsed in November 2022. FINMA's response — tighter AML thresholds, mandatory crypto reporting, and stricter enforcement of segregation rules — was incremental, not dramatic. A field note on what actually changed, read from FINMA's own documents, and why the Swiss banks came out ahead.
- ecosystem
The FTX Collapse Through a Zug Lens: What November 2022 Looked Like in Crypto Valley
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. Rebuilt from contemporary reporting — the Zug-registered projects caught on FTX, the Swiss banks that gained inflows, and what the week revealed about Crypto Valley's resilience.
- holding
Staking Rewards in Switzerland: Why They're Taxed as Income (And What That Means for You)
Swiss law taxes staking rewards as ordinary income, not capital gains. Why, the wealth tax double-layer, and what it means staking in Zug versus Geneva.
- holding
The Wealth Tax Calculation: How Switzerland Values Your Crypto Portfolio on New Year's Eve
Switzerland's wealth tax hits your crypto portfolio every December 31st, even if you never sold. Here's the exact SFTA Kursliste mechanism, how Zug's effective 0.14% compares to Geneva's 0.51%, and what happens when your altcoin isn't on the list.
- ecosystem
The Year Zug Let You Pay Taxes in Bitcoin: How the 2021 Scheme Worked
In February 2021, Canton Zug became the first Swiss canton to accept Bitcoin and Ether for tax payments — up to CHF 100,000 per bill. A field note on what it meant, how it actually worked, and why the real story is more interesting than the headline.
- regulation
The DLT Act Explained Without a Law Degree: What Changed for Crypto in Switzerland
Switzerland's DLT Act entered into force February 1, 2021 — amending nine federal laws at once. Here's what three innovations actually changed for crypto firms, custody providers, and anyone holding digital assets in Switzerland.
- holding
Swiss Six-Month Crypto Rule: Why It Alone Won't Keep You Tax-Free
Holding crypto six months does not make your Swiss gains tax-free — it is only 1 of 5 safe-harbour tests. The five SFTA criteria, the one that quietly catches active traders, and what reclassification really costs.
- regulation
When FINMA Gave Crypto Its First Banking Licenses in 2019
On August 26, 2019, FINMA granted Switzerland's first banking licenses to pure-play crypto firms — SEBA and Sygnum. A field note on what that day meant for Zug, what the licenses actually meant, and where both banks are now.
- ecosystem
Crypto Winter in Crypto Valley: How Zug's Web3 Ecosystem Survived 2018-2019
Rebuilt from the record: what the 2018-2019 crypto winter actually did to Zug — which projects folded, which firms stayed, and why the SEBA and Sygnum banking licenses in August 2019 mattered more than any price chart.
- regulation
FINMA's ICO Guidelines in 2018: What They Revealed About Switzerland's Regulatory Philosophy
On February 16, 2018, FINMA published six pages that changed the global conversation on crypto regulation. A field note on the three-token classification framework, why FINMA chose taxonomy over prohibition, and why this document still matters in 2026.
- ecosystem
The ICO Boom in Zug: What 2017-2018 Actually Looked Like
From Tezos raising $232M to FINMA's February 2018 guidelines and the Crypto Winter that followed — a field note on what the ICO boom actually looked like in Zug, read from the record, including what worked, what failed, and why Switzerland's approach still mattered.
- ecosystem
Why Ethereum Was Born in Zug: The 2014-2017 Origin Story Most People Get Wrong
Ethereum chose Zug not because of tax rates but because Swiss foundation law gave the 2014 presale legal structure no other jurisdiction offered. A field note on the real origin story — the spaceship house, Stiftung Ethereum, and how Crypto Valley got its name.
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