SIX’s DLT based Digital Exchange, SDX, revealed to Reuters that it’s working with Citibank, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse on applications for the platform. SIX’s CEO Jos Dijsselhof said last month that no decision had been made about which assets will launch first.
In the past they’ve discussed warrants, regulated digital IPOs, tokenized real estate and mutual funds.
Dijsselhof stated that the three banks had teams working on uses cases. And they might invest in the platform in future.
Previously the CEO has spoken about tokenized versions of Nestle and Novartis shares. But it requires a change in Swiss laws. The new legislation will govern electronic rights registration for DLT-based assets and explicitly incorporate such assets into its bankruptcy legislation.
The CEO also reiterated the time scale. The foundational technology, which is based on R3’s Corda, is ready. The hold up is deciding and implementing applications and legislation. He expects prototype testing to start later this year, with a launch in 2020.
Talking about the benefits, he said: “The infrastructure will be cheaper, you won’t need collateral, you won’t have the credit risk, you won’t need a clearinghouse. There are huge advantages to moving existing products on it.”
Last month saw the departure of the SDX CEO Martin Halblaub over strategic direction. It was rumored the difference was about keeping SDX within SIX’s corporate structure. Halblaub wanted to see it separated out.
