SIX Group AG, operator of Swiss and Spanish stock exchanges, is integrating its digital asset exchange unit, SDX, into its core operations. The move streamlines services and improves scalability in the digital asset space.
SDX’s trading activities are merging with SIX’s primary exchange, while responsibility for digital asset settlement and custody will be transferred to the group’s post-trade arm.
The integration is aimed at creating a smoother user experience for digital asset services across the company, according to Marco Kessler, Head of Product and Business Development for Digital Assets at SIX Group.
Ongoing SDX projects like those with Banque Pictet and Citigroup on tokenizing securities will now be managed by SIX Securities Services. The post-trade unit will also handle projects involving securities splitting into smaller parts. The decision highlights the need to standardize digital asset capabilities across securities services as well as increasing innovation in post-trade activities.
Tokenization Gains Traction
SIX Group’s approach aligns with the rising interest of financial institutions and fintech companies using blockchain technology for conventional assets like stocks and bonds. This process, known as tokenization, allows assets to be traded more easily, quickly, and potentially at lower costs compared to traditional systems. It could also make less liquid assets, such as private business stock, more accessible. Launched in 2021, SDX facilitated the issuance of regulated digital securities with an exchange and central securities depository. Over $3.1 billion worth of digital bonds have been issued on the platform, with SIX Group also supporting the Swiss National Bank’s pilot for a central bank digital currency. In May, Citigroup and SDX announced plans to tokenize, settle, and safeguard assets using SDX’s central securities depository. The partnership will use blockchain technology to digitize late-stage pre-IPO equities, with Citi acting as tokenization agent and custodian. These projects will now continue under SIX’s post-trade division, according to Kessler.