Staking, Lending and Yield in Singapore: the Swiss comparison

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Switzerland reached a different equilibrium through its banking law. FINMA's Guidance 08/2023 on staking distinguishes between staking in which the custodian keeps the tokens available to the customer at all times and staking in which the tokens are locked. It treats the former as compatible with custody segregation under Art. 16 BankA while flagging the latter as a potential deposit (see Part E, Chapter VIII). The result is that Swiss banks and SRO-affiliated custodians offer staking to retail customers within defined parameters. The customer's protection comes from the segregation rules of the Banking Act and Art. 242a DEBA. Lending platforms that take tokens for their own account are deposit-takers and need a banking or fintech licence, which has kept the Hodlnaut model out of Switzerland.

The two systems protect the customer by different means. Switzerland regulates the provider's balance sheet: if the tokens are the provider's, it is a bank. Singapore regulates the customer's access: if the customer is retail, the product does not exist. For a group operating in both hubs, the practical division is that retail yield products belong in the Swiss entity under its banking or SRO status, while the Singapore entity offers staking only to professional clients. A founder whose business is retail yield belongs in Zug and should expect FINMA's deposit analysis to determine the licence.

Question	Switzerland	Singapore
Retail custodial staking	Permitted within FINMA Guidance 08/2023 parameters	Prohibited for DPT licensees
Retail token lending to provider	Deposit-taking; banking or fintech licence required	Prohibited for DPT licensees; debenture analysis for others
Institutional staking	Permitted; segregation under Art. 16 BankA	Permitted; custodial wallet service; trust
Pooled yield product	Collective investment under CISA or structured product	CIS under SFA; restricted to accredited investors
Protection mechanism	Segregation in insolvency (Art. 242a DEBA; Art. 16 BankA)	Statutory trust for licensees; retail exclusion

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 directly at [email protected] 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.

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