Switzerland’s stock exchange, SIX, said today it had obtained two licenses from the nation’s markets regulator to launch a stock exchange and depository for blockchain-based securities.

• Based in Zurich, Switzerland, the SIX Swiss Exchange is the country’s principal stock exchange that also trades particular securities like government bonds and derivatives such as stock options.
• According to a CNBC report, the organization has received two licenses from the nation’s regulator – the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
• This regulatory approval will enable SIX to operate a stock exchange and depository for DLT-based securities.
• It will also have the ability to launch regulated trading, settlement, and custody infrastructure based on blockchain.
• SIX failed to disclose when it intends to release this digital bourse nor which assets it would list first.

• “This is an important milestone in bringing the digitalization of capital markets into the mainstream, but it is only the beginning. We will continue to work with our clients, regulators, and other stakeholders to shape the markets of the future.” – commented Thomas Zeeb, SIX’s global head of exchanges.

• The organization’s attempts to receive this particular approval date as far back as 2019 when Zeeb first hinted about them.
• Separately, SIX Exchange has already become the home of numerous cryptocurrency-related products. CoinShares and 21Shares have launched several exchange-traded products tracking the performance of assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana, and more.