Soft law that becomes hard law

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None of the five bodies discussed in this chapter can bind Switzerland or Singapore. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issue recommendations, standards and frameworks. None of these texts has legal force until a national legislature or regulator adopts it. Yet in digital-asset regulation these texts have shaped both jurisdictions more than any domestic political initiative. The reason is structural. Switzerland and Singapore are small, open financial centres whose banks and intermediaries depend on access to the dollar, the euro and the correspondent-banking network. Each body has a mechanism, from mutual evaluation to peer review to market pressure, that turns its recommendations into a condition of that access. A practitioner who reads the FATF text in June predicts the FINMA circular in December.¹

This chapter takes each body in turn and asks what it has said about crypto assets, when it said it and where the text has landed in Swiss and in Singapore law. It then draws the implementation map together in a single table. The purpose is to let the reader trace a domestic rule to its source and to anticipate the next one. Part F, Part L and the tax parts treat the domestic rules in detail.

Notes

On the position of Switzerland and Singapore within the international standard-setting bodies see Part A, Chapter VI, and Part C, Chapter VI. Both are FATF members. Switzerland sits on the FSB through the SNB and the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), Singapore through MAS. Both are BCBS and IOSCO members. ↩

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.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.