The Swiss Stock Exchange, operated by SIX Group, has been considering establishing a cryptocurrency trading venue in Europe.
This move would place it in competition with established digital asset platforms such as Binance, OKX, and Coinbase. The aim is to attract institutional investors, leveraging Switzerland's strong crypto regulatory framework and the exchange's reputation.
Officials from SIX Group noted that cryptocurrencies have increasingly become accepted as a legitimate asset class. They told the Financial Times that the exchange is evaluating options for launching a platform that could facilitate both spot cryptocurrency and derivatives trading.
FT reveals that, historically, many traditional financial institutions have avoided creating crypto trading platforms due to unclear regulations and concerns over reputational risks. However, a few major players, such as Deutsche Boerse, Nomura, and Standard Chartered, have established their own exchanges, typically keeping them separate from their core operations. Meanwhile, Cboe Global Markets shut down its spot crypto trading platform earlier this year, citing regulatory uncertainty.
In the US, the approval of bitcoin and ethereum exchange-traded funds by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) caused a rise in both retail and institutional investment. This momentum has led to increased speculation that more investors may eventually choose to trade cryptocurrencies directly.
Switzerland is seen as one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly nations, with regulations in place governing the trading, custody, and classification of digital assets, rules that many other countries have yet to adopt. Expanding into cryptocurrency could be part of SIX Group’s broader strategy for growing its presence in Europe, though any new platform would be restricted to institutional investors, such as asset managers.
SIX already operates a crypto derivatives business in Singapore called AsiaNext, in partnership with Japan’s SBI Group. SIX officials revealed that the company is considering whether a similar venture could be established in Europe but emphasised that no final decisions have been made.
SIX Group also manages a digital exchange, where it has listed nine digital bonds since 2018, including issuances from investment bank UBS and the city of Lugano. The potential move into cryptocurrency trading represents a significant step for SIX, which also operates stock exchanges in Switzerland and Madrid.
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