21X has partnered with SBI Digital Markets to list Asian tokenized securities on 21X’s DLT exchange once it launches. 21X is awaiting final regulatory approval from BaFin for the launch of its EU DLT Pilot Regime platform. It supports matching, trading and settlement of assets on a public permissionless blockchain.
Singapore-based SBI Digital Markets (SBIDM) is an indirect subsidiary of the Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings. Together the goal is to issue, distribute and trade tokenized securities on the 21X exchange, initially targeting exchange traded notes (ETNs) and funds (ETFs). SBIDM will be a listing agent, tokenization service provider and global custody provider.
Initially the goal is to support the listing of Singapore issued securities in Europe. However, EU issued securities will also be made available to investors in APAC, including Singapore, Thailand and Japan.
“With our license to operate imminent, this collaboration will allow SBIDM, which holds an outstanding market position in Asia, to use 21X as the gateway to Europe for trading and settlement of digital securities, taking advantage of the first and only fully regulated exchange in Europe for tokenized securities, at launch.”
The DLT Pilot Regime allows the same platform to support both trading and post trade, eliminating the need for clearing and supporting atomic settlement or delivery versus payment (DvP). Additionally, the Regime supports direct access by retail investors. Combined with fractionalization and tokenization, this can potentially expand access to a broader range of investors.
SBI’s global tokenization push
For several years SBI has been working on a strategy to connect tokenized markets globally. To that end, it set up SBI Digital Asset Holdings (SBI DAH) in Singapore, SBIDM’s immediate parent. SBI DAH also has a joint venture, AsiaNext, with another trailblazer, the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the world’s first regulated primary and secondary market for tokenized securities. Last year SBI launched a Japanese secondary market for tokenized securities, START, as part of the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX).
While blockchains are global by nature, regulations are not. Hence, as part of the transition to global DLT markets, there may be a need to provide local regulated custody, or create links between central securities depositories (CSDs).
“We have been working with our ecosystem partners over the last months to establish a pipeline of tokenized assets to list on 21X where SBIDM will act as a global custodian and service provider. This collaboration is a testament to our shared vision for the future of digital securities,” said Winston Quek, CEO of SBI Digital Markets.
Earlier this week 21X announced a relationship with fund administrator Apex to provide a venue for listing tokenized funds.
