MiCA, Switzerland and Singapore compared
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The three regimes answer the same questions with different instruments. The table sets out the main points at 30 June 2026.
| Question | MiCA (EU) | Switzerland | Singapore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal form | Regulation, directly applicable | Amendments to ten federal acts (DLT Act) plus FINMA practice | PSA 2019, SFA 2001, FSMA 2022 plus MAS notices |
| Token categories | ART, EMT, other crypto-assets; securities excluded | Payment, utility, asset (FINMA); securities under FinSA/FinMIA | DPT, e-money, capital markets product, limited-purpose DPT |
| Issuance of payment/utility token | White paper, notification, liability; no approval | No licence; FINMA classification request advisable | No licence unless capital markets product |
| Stablecoin issuer | EMT: credit institution or EMI; ART: authorised issuer with reserve | Bank or fintech licence (deposit) or CISA; FINMA Guidance 06/2024 | SCS framework (reserve, par redemption, capital); implementation pending |
| Service-provider licence | CASP authorisation, Art. 59 ff.; 10 services | SRO affiliation plus FINMA licence by activity | PSA licence (SPI/MPI); CMS licence; DTSP licence |
| Minimum capital | EUR 50,000 / 125,000 / 150,000 or 25 % of fixed overheads | CHF 100,000 (AG); CHF 300,000 (fintech licence); CHF 1.5 million (securities firm) | S$ 100,000 (SPI) / S$ 250,000 (MPI) |
| Passporting | Within EU/EEA by notification | None | None |
| Third-country access | Reverse solicitation only (Art. 61) | Cross-border into Switzerland permitted for many activities if no Swiss presence | FSMA Part 9 captures Singapore base serving abroad |
| Custody of client assets | Segregation, custody policy, liability (Arts. 70, 75) | Art. 242a/242b DEBA; Art. 16 BankA | Statutory trust, segregation, cold storage |
| Market abuse | Title VI applies to all crypto-assets admitted to trading | Arts. 142 ff. FinMIA for securities only | SFA Part 12 for capital markets products; PSA conduct rules |
| Transparency | DAC8 from 1 January 2026 | CARF: AEOI Act in force 1 January 2026; data collection from 2027 at the earliest, first exchange 2028 (see Part C VI, Part G VII) | CARF commitment; first exchanges 2027 or 2028 (see Part M VII) |
| End of transition | 1 July 2026 | DLT Act fully in force since 1 August 2021 | DTSP cut-off 30 June 2025 |
Three conclusions follow. First, MiCA is more prescriptive than Swiss law and about as prescriptive as Singapore law in conduct and custody. In stablecoin issuance it is more permissive than both, because an EMI licence is easier to obtain than a Swiss bank licence and because MAS's framework had not yet been legislated at the cut-off date. Second, MiCA's absence of any third-country route is a deliberate policy and will not change in the near term. Swiss and Singapore firms should plan on that basis. Third, MiCA's market-abuse title has no counterpart in Switzerland for non-security tokens, which means that a memecoin pump that is a criminal offence in Frankfurt may be no offence in Zug. Part E, Chapter X, discusses whether that gap will close.
Practice note
Before you decide on a Union entity, run three tests on your current book. Count the Union-resident clients and the revenue they produce. Check whether any of them can be shown, with documents, to have approached you at their own initiative without any Union-directed marketing. Price the Vaduz or Dublin subsidiary with real substance. If the Union revenue does not cover the subsidiary within two years, geo-block and revisit when it does. If it does, start the application in the Member State whose authority has already authorised a business like yours, because the second application of a kind is always faster than the first.
For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.