The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has informed financial intermediary Bitcoin Suisse AG that its application for a banking licence is ineligible for approval. It has taken its decision in part because it disliked the firm's anti-money-laundering controls.

Bitcoin Suisse AG submitted an application for a banking licence to FINMA in 2019. FINMA now considers it to be ineligible for approval because the omens are not propitious. Among other things, it has uncovered indications of weaknesses in the firm's money-laundering-defence mechanisms. Bitcoin Suisse is withdrawing its application for a banking licence.

Bitcoin Suisse AG is a financial intermediary domiciled in the Canton of Zug that specialises in the crypto-currency business. The company is not supervised by FINMA but is, however, subject to supervision by an anti-money-laundering self-regulatory organisation. FINMA’s responsibility for unregulated companies is mainly one of opening investigations and, where necessary, taking corrective measures if it finds indications that someone has broken a supervisory law by embarking on unauthorised/unlicensed activities.