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    Bitcoin wallets get a key approval in Switzerland

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    01.29.2017

    Bitcoin companies offering virtual wallets sometimes face a difficult legal question: do they have to operate as a bank (with all the regulation that entails), or can they function as something else? In Switzerland, at least, that matter is settled. Xapo has received "conditional approval" for running its bitcoin wallet service from the country. It'll have to participate in a self-regulatory organization and meet other unspecified terms, but it won't have to secure a banking license. As of now, it's classified as a financial go-between.