Switzerland's stock exchange plans to launch a trading platform for digital assets – including cryptocurrencies. The alpine nation also has plans for safeguarding tokens.
Stock exchange operator SIX plans to build a digital exchange platform for the issuance, trading, settlement and custody of digital assets, the company said in a statement. SIX plans to launch the first such services by mid-2019.
The blockchain-based platform is meant to bridge the gap between traditional and new infrastructure. The plan enables existing securities to be tokenized, and for previously unbankable assets to be integrated.
Custody of Digital Assets
SIX's platform can trade cryptocurrencies, but the exchange wants to build the first end-to-end platform. Few crypto exchanges offer safeguarding or custody of assets like bitcoin or ether, sending users to third-party providers. By contrast, SIX said it wants to cover the full spectrum of trading to custody of assets.
Switzerland's exchange is perfectly positioned to grab market share in the currently fragmented space, SIX head of securities and exchanges Thomas Zeeb said. The SIX platform aims to bolster trust in crypto assets, he noted.
Asia Cautious
Sopnendu Mohanty, fintech chief at the Monetary Authority of Singapore was asked recently by finews.asia about Switzerland’s accommodative stance on digital assets and ICOs.
«I believe what the industry needs is clarity. We clarified our regulatory position on ICOs in August 2017, and subsequently issued a comprehensive guide to digital token offerings in November 2017. We do not want dubious ICOs to set up shop in Singapore,» Mohanty said.
Hong Kong regulator the Securities and Futures Commission is also closely monitoring crypto exchanges that operate in the Asian financial hub.
