Swiss Exchange SIX to Launch Blockchain Bourse in Late 2019

Swiss exchange SIX plans to launch its new SDX trading platform using blockchain technology to speed up trading in the second half of this year, Chairman Romeo Lacher said. The new SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) will initially run parallel to the existing SIX platform, which involves three steps to complete a trade, often over several days. Two of those steps vanish in a blockchain distributed ledger, meaning a transaction can be completed in fractions of a second.  “The supervisory board will probably decide on the project in late summer,” Lacher said adding that the group was clarifying legal and regulatory issues with the Finma market watchdog.  “We want to start with our own Security Token Offering,” Lacher said. SDX is likely to offer trading in selected stocks, followed by other stocks and later bonds (and possibly exchange-traded funds) officials have said.