According to an article published on the Coin Telegraph auf Deutsch on March 20th, the Federal Assembly – the national legislature of the Swiss Federation – has passed a new initiative that would help the Federal Council provide better regulations for cryptocurrencies in the country.

Specifically, with 99 to 83 votes in favor and 10 abstentions, the motion proposed by Giovanni Merlini (FDP / TI) plans to adopt the provisions on procedural instruments of the judicial and administrative authorities that can ultimately be applied to cryptocurrencies.

The motion looks to bridge the gap in the current cryptocurrency legislation and helps better guard businesses against illegal acts such as extortion or money laundering. It also aims to find proper ways to fight back crypto-related threats, and whether the persons or organizations responsible for the crypto platforms need to be considered the same as financial intermediaries and consequently required to operate under financial market supervision.

Swiss finance minister Ueli Maurer has reportedly stated regarding the newly introduced motion that the suggested development has surpassed the scale of the initial regulation.

In December 2018, minister Maurer that in lieu of legalizing any particular Blockchain-powered or cryptocurrency-related frameworks, the Swiss government should adopt some amendments to the existing law regarding the technology and its financial application.