Today, SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) formally received the FINMA go-ahead to operate a stock exchange and a central securities depository for digital assets in Switzerland.

This authorization enables SDX to go live with a fully regulated, integrated trading, settlement, and custody infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology for digital securities. With these licenses, SDX can now offer the highest Swiss standards of oversight and regulation.

SIX Digital Exchange set out to build a fully integrated trading, settlement, and custody infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology for digital assets in 2018. This milestone has now been reached with the approval of both licenses and paves the way for the next stage in the development of a future ecosystem.

Over the coming months and years, SIX Digital Exchange will continue to invest in building out the digital financial ecosystem to create a global liquidity network for digital assets by engaging in cooperative ventures with partners and accelerating the onboarding of various global and local financial players. As this international customer base expands to include banks, issuers, insurance firms, institutional investors, the members of SDX will create a global exchange network for digital assets, unlocking global liquidity based on Distributed Ledger Technology.

Thomas Zeeb, Global Head, Exchanges & Member Executive Board, SIX, “The digitalization of financial markets continues apace, and while the final shape of the market is still evolving, 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. In this regard, the SDX approval process has proven to be an invaluable experience for SIX and for the industry as a whole. It has been instrumental in helping to define our offering, our strategy, and to build a new ecosystem to help our clients meet the increasing demands for commercial return that they face from their stakeholders. This is an important milestone in bringing the digitalization of capital markets into the mainstream, but it is only the beginning. We will continue to work with our clients, regulators, and other stakeholders to shape the markets of the future.”