FCX, the Australian platform for unlisted tokenized securities, has received a clearing and settlement license from the Reserve Bank of Australia, and a markets license to operate an exchange from securitise regulator ASIC. Its parent Finclear provides share registry services. FCX launched two years ago, starting as a DLT-based registry for unlisted securities.
According to the Australian Financial Review, FCX believes it will be the first securities market in the world operating within existing laws to offer instant settlement using blockchain. Not quite. The SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the very first regulated exchange, did the same thing. While Switzerland has digital friendly regulations, SDX is regulated under the conventional rules as an exchange and as a central securities depository (CSD).
With more companies staying private for longer, the market in unlisted securities is growing. Amongst younger investors, these types of alternative investments are proving more popular than regular listed equities.
“FCX meets the increasingly corporate and complex needs of private companies who wish to remain private, and investor desire for direct access to regulated private market opportunities that far exceed the $2.7 trillion securities on ASX,” FCX said in a statement.
Meanwhile, FCX becomes the only Australian venue other than the main stock exchange ASX to hold licenses for trading and settlement. ASX had planned to launch a DLT-based settlement system CHESS, but abandoned it after spending hundreds of millions of dollars. Ironically, FCX uses the same underlying DLT technology from Digital Asset.
