Swiss Stock Exchange Gets Regulatory Nod to Launch Digital Asset Exchange
The exchange, first announced in 2018, will target banks, issuers, insurance firms and institutional investors.
Sep 10, 2021 at 12:28 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/V5SB4UEJJ5EN5BIML7G6EORGXE.jpg)
A SIX logo sits on the exterior of the Six Swiss Exchange AG stock exchange in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019. In a move that has implications for Brexit, Switzerland disallowed the trading of its shares on the bloc's bourses as of July 1 to prevent a drop in liquidity as it faced the expiry of its recognition under European Union rules. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
Swiss stock exchange SIX has been given regulatory approval to launch an exchange and depository for digital assets.
- The SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) has been authorized by Swiss financial regulator FINMA to offer trading and custody of digital assets, according to an announcement Friday.
- Having first announced it was building an exchange for digital assets based on blockchain technology in July 2018, SIX has been granted two licenses from FINMA to operate a stock exchange and central securities depository (CSD). It appears to be the first major stock exchange to be starting its own digital asset exchange.
- “This is an important milestone in providing institutional investors with a safe and robust infrastructure meeting all of the core requirements of a traditional exchange and CSD infrastructure,” said Thomas Zeeb, SIX’s global head of exchanges and a member of its executive board.
- It is not clear yet exactly which digital assets will be supported, though SIX’s initial announcement three years ago made reference to tokenizing traditional securities.
- Having finally won FINMA approval, SDX will look to build the necessary ecosystem with liquidity for digital assets and onboard clients over the coming months.
- SDX hopes to appeal to banks, issuers, insurance firms and institutional investors.
UPDATE (Sept. 10, 13:05 UTC): Updated with information in the second bullet point.
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Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
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Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
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