SIX Swiss Exchange — Europe's third biggest bourse — is considering launching a crypto exchange.
Details
- Specifically, it is looking to create a venue in Europe to sister crypto trading
- If approved and put to sea, the venue would only be available to institutional investors like asset managers
- Switzerland is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in Europe
- It has already chalked out laws with respect to trading and custody of assets, and the classification of different types of tokens
- SIX wants to leverage crypto laws to net in large traditional players who are interested in exploring crypto
Why should you pay attention?
- The Swiss group — which is owned by 120 banks — also runs a separate digital exchange
- Since 2018, nine digital bonds have been listed by issuers including UBS and the city of Lugano local authority
- The upcoming digital exchange could expand that concept to include crypto trading
Who said what?
- Bjørn Sibbern, global head of exchanges at SIX Group said,
“Crypto has become more and more a recognized asset class. We see the trend that more and more global banks and institutions are looking at crypto”
- SIX — alongside Japan’s SBI Group — runs a crypto derivatives company called AsiaNext out of Singapore. Sibbern said,
“We are looking at should we do something similar in Europe"
- He, however, was quick to caution that the company could also say that “this is something we do not want to pursue”
Zooming out
- The launch will lead to TradFi smart money flowing into the crypto ecosystem, triggering increased liquidity, institutional adoption, and greater market stability
- In turn, this could help accelerate the integration of digital assets into mainstream investment portfolios
- That being said, it should be borne in mind that SIX is merely in the exploration stage at the moment, and the launch hasn't been finalized yet
