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In December, SIX, Europe’s fourth-largest stock exchange, restructured its business by integrating its digital asset platform, SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), into its core market infrastructure. After years of experimentation, the group is now consolidating to match the contours of actual market demand.
“When we built SDX in 2018, there were no reference models for how to build a digital FMI. Looking back, we probably implemented too much directly on DLT early on, not because it was wrong, but because the market wasn’t ready to consume it,” explained Marco Kessler, Head of Product and Business Development for Digital Assets at SIX.
Why it matters
Launched in 2019 as a prototype, SDX stands out as one of the only fully regulated digital market infrastructures in the world that mirrors the structure of traditional FMIs. Unlike most tokenization platforms or crypto exchanges, SDX received both a stock exchange license and a CSD license from FINMA, enabling it to operate the entire lifecycle of a digital security within a regulated environment.
In our conversation, Kessler explains the rationale behind integrating selected SDX activities into the core market infrastructure, the growing institutional appetite for crypto assets, and the roadmap for the next 12-24 months.
On why SIX decided to integrate SDX into the core FMI :
“SDX was launched with two licenses — an exchange and a CSD. We have retired the exchange license, while the digital CSD and all its post-trade capabilities are now embedded directly into SIX’s main infrastructure.
This integration removes the need for institutions to join a separate digital venue. Instead, digital issuance, servicing, custody, settlement and wCBDC become part of the infrastructure they already rely on. Additionally, we are exploring the addition of crypto and stablecoin custody as an additional integrated service.
The only component we paused is the atomic settlement model. It works technically, but the market isn’t operationally ready. We can bring it back once the market is ready.”
On lessons learned from the early SDX years :
“The biggest lesson is that efficiency alone doesn’t guarantee adoption when it requires deep internal change. Atomic settlement eliminates counterparty risk, but it forces traders and banks to rethink workflows built over decades, and that kind of shift takes time.
We also learned that starting with digital bonds limited adoption simply because these instruments see very little on-exchange secondary market activity. And with around 20 members and roughly a dozen digital bonds, the standalone SDX venue simply didn’t have the scale needed to build liquidity.”
On where client demand is strongest today :
“By far, the strongest demand today is for crypto and stablecoins. Every bank is asking whether this is an opportunity or a threat, and these discussions now take place at the C-level, not just within digital asset teams.
The next area of demand is tokenized money market funds, especially as settlement assets, where they increasingly function like operational tools similar to stablecoins. Private market instruments, such as pre-IPO companies, are gaining interest too, and we’re exploring these use cases through our collaboration with Citi.
Finally, digital bonds continue to be the entry point for most banks: simple instruments that help them learn the legal, operational and technical aspects of DLT. They are an on-ramp, not a driver of new funding or market growth.”
On integrating crypto and stablecoins into a regulated CSD :
“We’re currently exploring with the regulator the possibility to allow the CSD to offer custody, staking, trading connectivity and collateral services for crypto and stablecoins. If approved, clients could in principle post BTC, ETH, stablecoins and securities within one unified FMI environment.
For many banks, especially smaller ones, this removes the need to build a full crypto stack. They would simply activate the service through their existing SIX connection.”
On the roadmap for the next 12-24 months :
“Our priority is evolving the digital CSD into a multi-ledger architecture. That means evolving the architecture to support Corda but also other types of technologies such as public chains, EVM-compatible environments and more flexible connectivity.
At the same time, we’re extending digital infrastructure across Switzerland and Europe. As our door to Europe, Iberclear is already involved in ECB CBDC pilots, and regarding digital in Europe, there is more to come from SIX.”
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