Stock exchange operator SIX is retiring its digital assets unit SDX and bringing its operations in-house, reports Bloomberg (paywalled). SDX’s trading capabilities will be moved into the group’s main exchange business, while SIX’s post trade division will take over the digital asset settlement and custody services that used to be under SDX.
This move by SIX is likely a reflection of a bigger shift within the industry as large financial institutions and fintech firms move towards tokenisation of traditional assets. Bloomberg quotes Marco Kessler, SIX’s head of product and business development for digital assets, who says, “We have seen a lot of innovation happen in the post trade space and we wanted to integrate the digital asset capabilities across securities services, starting from custody.” He expects the integration to help the firm’s work in digital assets reach greater scale and adoption.
Moving forward, SDX’s ongoing projects will be transferred to SIX. These include Project Helvetia, the Swiss National Bank’s wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot and SDX’s partnership with Citigroup, which involves the latter tokenising, settling, and safekeeping assets on SDX’s CSD, as well as offering tokenised late-stage pre-IPO equities through SDX’s infrastructure.
