Subordination Enquiries

By way of subordination enquiries, the FMA issues information about the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCAR) or of the laws listed in Article 5(1) FMAG for clearly determined facts in connection with distributed ledger technology (Article 21(2)(a) EEA MiCA-DG and Article 43(2)(b) TVTG). 

Enquiries can be submitted to the FMA in writing, by email to fintech[at]fma-li.li, or via the corresponding online form.

The facts to be assessed must be described fully, in detail, and coherently in the enquiry (including the name of the DLT used, a description of all payment flows, contractual relationships, and cooperation with other service providers). The explanations should be suitable for legal assessment, i.e. not formulated in purely technical language. 

The enquiry must be accompanied by a well-founded legal appraisal of the facts to be assessed, either in the form of a legal opinion or a reasoned self-appraisal. This appraisal must evaluate the existence of possible licensing, registration, prospectus, or due diligence obligations under the special laws listed in Article 5(1) FMAG. It is not mandatory to provide a statement on each of these laws; the appraisal may be limited to those legal acts that might obviously be affected.

The enquiry must also state:

• whether the facts have already been submitted to another supervisory authority and, if so, that supervisory authority's assessment;
• whether the business model is/was already being practiced (in another country).

The FMA deals with enquiries only if they relate to the special laws listed in Article 5(1) FMAG and fall within its area of responsibility. It does not provide information on other areas of law (such as civil law, business law, company law, tax law, etc.) or on the economic viability of a business model.

The assessment is made exclusively on the basis of the information and documents submitted and the relevant facts determined from them. Any change requires a new assessment.

The FMA's assessment neither constitutes approval nor endorsement of the business model. Any references or statements claiming otherwise on websites and in the media must be avoided and will be publicly corrected by the FMA if necessary (see Article 21(3)(v)(6) EWR-MiCA-DG, Article 43(3)(f) TVTG, and Article 21a(2)(b) FMA).

The fee payable to the FMA is CHF 2,000 per enquiry (see Annex I Section I.quater(h) and I.nonies(n) with respect to Article 30(1) FMAG).