Yesterday the Financial Times reported that Swiss stock exchange SIX is exploring creating a European crypto and derivatives trading venue. In fact, the Swiss group already has crypto activities, and has been discussing expanding its digital asset activities into Europe since it first launched the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).
“Crypto has become more and more a recognised asset class,” Bjørn Sibbern, global head of exchanges at SIX Group, told the Financial Times, adding that the company is examining creating “a platform where we can help facilitate trading, whether it’s [spot] crypto or whether it’s derivatives”.
The SIX Digital Exchange is best known for high profile digital bond issuances, including by the World Bank, and as the platform that hosts one of the first (pilot) wholesale CBDCs. It also provides crypto custody and staking services and has a partnership with DLT Finance for crypto trading. SDX has a joint venture in Singapore with SBI Digital Asset Holdings, AsiaNext, which launched crypto derivatives trading earlier this year. Hence, it already has the expertise.
Derivatives are an area that incumbent exchanges have key advantages because they have the required capital markets licenses. That said, crypto activities are frequently in subsidiaries requiring separate licenses.
Institutional crypto competition ramps up
SIX remains focused on institutional customers, where the appetite for cryptocurrency is increasing. However, so is the competition. TP ICAP launched its Fusion Digital Assets platform last year. The Deutsche Börse Digital Exchange (DBDX) went live with spot trading in March of this year. Standard Chartered’s Zodia Markets recently acquired the OTC crypto desk from Elwood and Bloomberg reported that the parent bank is preparing to launch a spot crypto trading desk in London. Nomura’s Laser Digital also provides OTC trading. These are just some of the institutional initiatives.
Meanwhile, SIX’s digital asset ambitions in Europe are not new. In an interview at the launch of SDX three years ago, the exchange said it was looking into Europe and the UK and also discussed crypto ambitions. Of course SIX already has a substantial European presence as the owner of Spain’s BME exchange.
