November 22, 2021
SDX CEO David Newns proudly stated last Thursday that the Swiss Digital Exchange (SDX) shall be the first fully regulated market infrastructure equipped to issue a digital bond and use the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for settlement.
SIX Swiss Exchange’s new digital trading and settlement division is issuing a bond to illustrate how blockchain can potentially benefit from established securities, not just the cryptoassets for which it was originally intended.
The bond in SIX Group AG has a total volume of 150 million Swiss francs and matures in 2026. According to SDX, the issue has already been oversubscribed several times.
Two-thirds of the bond will be placed on the SDX, the other third on SIX’s main exchange, with the net proceeds to be used for general financing.
“It’s a historical milestone in the evolution of DLT in the capital market space. The option of instantaneous settlement is nothing short of revolutionary,” Newns told reporters.
Newns is the third head of SDX, a project that has faced delays in commissioning since it was launched three years ago.
DLT is the technology that anchors crypto assets like Bitcoin, and the benefits for investors result from “atomic” or trading and settlement in a single, instantaneous step.
Trading and settlement typically take two days in mainstream markets, creating risks such as the possibility of one side of the transaction going bankrupt before the transaction closes, tying up capital and liquidity.
R3, the company responsible for the DLT technology used by SDX, said the bond issue is being monitored by financial markets around the world.
SDX is also researching digital derivatives through cryptocurrencies and will have more to offer in the future, Newns said.
For more information, you may view the original story from Reuters.
