Autor Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved what it said is the country’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests directly in Bitcoin and is accessible to retail investors. The financial regulator’s Tuesday announcement cited a “growing interest” in cryptocurrency investments, particularly Bitcoin (BTC).While no fund issuer was identified by the regulator, it said multiple providers have submitted or announced Bitcoin ETF applications.SIX Swiss Exchange announced in August 2025 that iShares would begin trading a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, fully backed by BTC held in cold storage by Coinbase Custody International Limited.The approval clears a significant regulatory hurdle for the launch of Switzerland’s first retail-accessible ETF that invests directly in Bitcoin. The announcement did not specify a launch date.In 2021, FINMA first authorized a fund for qualified investors that invests primarily in a basket of cryptocurrencies. The regulator said it granted an exemption from standard risk-diversification requirements, citing Bitcoin’s “long trading history and a particularly high trading volume” compared with other digital assets.Still, the regulator emphasized that BTC investments carry market risks, such as the possibility of the invested capital losing a significant amount of its value, citing the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.Switzerland is regarded as one of the most crypto-friendly European countries. In 2023, the Swiss city of Lugano adopted Bitcoin and Tether USDt (USDT) payments for all municipal fees, one of the world’s first city administrations to do so. Related: Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Former FTX COO Constance Wang said she was upset by the upcoming Netflix drama’s depiction of the collapse of the exchange and its portrayal of some of the top executives.“The first 30 seconds were enough to upset me,” so “I stopped watching,” Wang told Cointelegraph during an episode of the Chain Reaction X spaces show published on Monday.Wang said the Netflix trailer’s depiction of some former FTX executives made her “feel physically upset,” adding that the portrayal of Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison didn’t match her personal experience. She explained that former FTX co-founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was also more “socially awkward” than his Netflix portrayal.Wang served as COO of FTX, which grew into one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges before collapsing in November 2022 due to customer fund misappropriation, causing an $8.9 billion shortfall in customer funds. FTX’s sister company, quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, used FTX customer funds that Bankman-Fried transferred without consent to fund Alameda’s trading losses, now referred to as the Alameda gap. Netflix released the trailer for the eight-episode series about FTX’s collapse in early October. The drama series, titled The Altruists, will premiere globally on Nov. 19, 2026, according to the streaming platform’s announcement.Source: CointelegraphWang bootstrapped AI-crypto venture following FTX collapseFollowing FTX’s collapse, Wang in early 2025 founded Pacifica, a crypto trading platform initially launched as a Solana-based perpetual futures decentralized exchange. She plans to add artificial intelligence capabilities to transform the platform into an intelligent trading infrastructure with strategic tools for investors.“For Pacifica, we didn’t raise any funds, it’s completely bootstrapped,” said Wang, adding that some institutional investors faced compliance restrictions when speaking to former FTX personnel while the bankruptcy proceedings were still ongoing.Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer lays out ex-FTX CEO’s Supreme Court caseBankman-Fried and Ellison were indicted in December 2022 following the exchange’s collapse and bankruptcy. Ellison accepted a plea deal to testify against Bankman-Fried and was released from prison in January, after serving 440 days of a two-year sentence.Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony counts and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024, with a scheduled release in 2044. In September, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers reportedly asked the Supreme Court to overturn his fraud conviction. He has also applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump. Magazine: Why Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund walked away from an Ether treasury bet

Nine listed companies have formally objected to having their shares offered in tokenized form on the proposed tokenized stock platform backed by OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).The companies included Cerebras Systems, AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, Verizon Communications, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom and UnitedHealth Group, according to a Thursday notice by OKX and ICE.The notice did not disclose the reason behind the objection. Under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Sept. 17 innovation exemption announcement, tokenized venues must give issuers written notice and an opportunity to object before listing third-party tokenized stocks.“Issuers aren’t objecting to the blockchain. They’re objecting to not knowing what happens to their price once it trades there,” Robin Nordnes, CEO of trading validation platform Raiku, told Cointelegraph. “On a public chain, the validator building the block sets the order. Until desks can measure their distance to that point, best execution is a promise, not a number.”The objections highlight a potential hurdle for tokenized stocks and test whether crypto platforms can create blockchain-based markets for public company shares without issuer cooperation. Cointelegraph has approached OKX for comment on the ramifications of the objection but had not received a response by the time of publication. Tokenized stock offerings need more real-world data to address pricing discrepancy concerns Companies need to see the “upside and a track record of efficient pricing,” Misha Putiatin, co-founder of collateral markets platform Symbiotic, told Cointelegraph, adding that more “real-world data would help everyone assess the benefits and risks.” He said that additional institutional tokenization initiatives, such as the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) tokenization services, could instill more confidence in tokenized offerings.Related: Nasdaq-listed Tron sets up $200M ATM share offering to fuel TRX acquisitionsCoinShares’ senior research associate, Luke Nolan, said the objection does not amount to a rejection of tokenization generally, but mostly against being tokenized without consent. He told Cointelegraph:“This veto also seems to be venue-specific, as in companies being able to say: no, I don’t want them offered on this venue, but I could permit/launch it somewhere else.” Nolan said the concerns are valid, adding that market participants have previously taken advantage of specific market mechanics to cause “squeezes” or “short-term swings” in the underlying asset’s price. Capital moving onchain during the past 30 days. Source: OnchainBenchmarkMore than $754 million in capital has moved onchain during the past 30 days, pushing the total across stablecoins and tokenized assets to $320 billion, according to OnchainBenchmark.Magazine: How Hong Kong is turning tokenized bonds into real market infrastructure

French lawmakers narrowly approved a new crypto tax amendment on Friday that could make crypto-to-stablecoin swaps taxable events starting in 2027.France’s National Assembly adopted Amendment I-3898 on Friday, with 38 votes in favor, 37 against and 25 abstentions. The measure was initially introduced as committee amendment I-CF1826 by French MP Nicolas Sansu and adopted on Oct. 7.The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the first part of the 2027 Finance Bill on Tuesday, according to its official schedule. Other crypto-related proposals remain under consideration, although it is unclear whether each will be debated or voted on that day.If enacted, the stablecoin amendment would tax certain crypto-to-stablecoin swaps and change how the country calculates crypto capital gains tax. French National Assembly advances Amendment I-3898 on crypto-to-stablecoin tax swaps. Source: assemblee-nationale.frUnder the proposal, investors converting their Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies into stablecoins would trigger a tax on the gains, even without converting gains into fiat. The calculation would use the acquisition cost of the sold crypto asset and the weighted average purchasing price.Related: Deutsche Bank prepares German crypto custody launch, eyes Asia: ReportFrench lawmakers to discuss crypto exit tax, self-custodial wallet reporting measuresSeparately, the Assembly rejected a proposal on Friday to carry forward realized crypto losses for 10 years, with 18 votes in favor, 75 against and 3 abstentions.French lawmakers are preparing to discuss other crypto-related proposals as part of next year’s budget. Amendment I-CF1822 proposes to extend France’s exit tax regime to cover unrealized gains when taxpayers with aggregate crypto portfolio values exceeding €800,000 ($895,000) transfer their residences abroad. Lawmakers are also weighing amendment I-2701, which would require individuals to declare the holdings of the self-custodial wallets if their total value exceeded €100,000 ($112,000) in the relevant tax year.As of Monday, both proposals remain under consideration for the 2027 Finance Bill.Magazine: How the EU’s crypto tax rules are expected to work for users and platformsCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.