Switzerland’s Top Stock Exchange To Roll Out Blockchain Platform

SIX, the top stock exchange in the crypto-savvy country of Switzerland has revealed their plans to create a blockchain platform which promises to speed up trading later this year.

Reported on February 6th by Reuters, Romeo Lacher, a SIX chairman stated that the new upcoming SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) would work alongside their existing SIX stock exchange.

As of today, trades on the platform can take many steps to complete which can result in days passing. However, should a distributed ledger system be implemented as is planned, it will shave off at least two of the lengthy stages as well as reduce the lifecycle of all trades to mere fractions of a second.

The Reuters report also cites officials who stated that the SDX platform will offer trading of certain stocks upon launch, with a diverse range of bonds and stocks to follow in the months after launch. In addition to this, exchange-traded funds could also be a feature and ultimately, tokenised physical assets as well.

Lacher also told the news platform that the current SIX advisory board will “probably” come to a final decision this summer, as they’re currently still ironing out the kinks with regards to regulatory and legal matters found within the Swiss financial market and it’s regulator FINMA.

First announced back un July 2018 by SIX, the new DLT-based exchange, according to CEO Jos Dijsselhof will mark:

“This is the beginning of a new era for capital markets infrastructures. For us, it is abundantly clear that much of what is going on in the digital space is here to stay and will define the future of our industry.”

When the platform launches, SIX has plans to use itself in order to raise funding during 2019 as per the report from Reuters.

Lacher added:

“We want to start with our own security token offering.”

Back in November 2018, SIX announced that they would be launching the first ever exchange-traded product (ETP) which will track multiple digital assets.

Lastly, the Amun Crypto ETP is represented by the HODL ticker symbol and tracks an index of the “top 5 crypto assets in terms of market cap and liquidity.”

Could Switzerland indeed become the first nation to launch an ETP? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.