Swiss stock exchange SIX is considering launching a new cryptocurrency trading platform in Europe, aiming to challenge dominant players like Binance. Financial Times It was reported on September 18th.
Bjorn Sivern, global head of exchanges at SIX Group, said the company is evaluating platforms that support spot cryptocurrency and derivatives trading as the emerging industry is increasingly recognized as a legitimate asset class.
Institutional focus
According to Siburn, the proposed platform would only be useful for institutional investors such as asset managers.
SIX plans to achieve this by leveraging its strong reputation and Switzerland’s favorable cryptocurrency regulations to attract institutional investors.
The move will benefit from Switzerland's clear crypto regulations, providing a safe environment for asset trading and storage, and will also give the region a competitive advantage in the crypto space by targeting larger investors.
Notably, this comes as more traditional financial institutions such as Standard Chartered and Singapore-based DBS are expanding their services to include crypto-specific trading activities.
Market observers have linked the move to the approval of spot crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) products linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in the United States.
Increasing competition
Therefore, if SIX goes ahead with launching its exchange as planned, it could pose a major threat to the major cryptocurrency-focused trading platforms such as Coinbase and Binance that currently dominate the market.
Data Source According to blockchain analytics platform CCData, trading volumes on centralized exchanges are on the rise. Spot and derivatives trading increased 5.38% in August to $5.22 trillion, the firm said.
CCData said top exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase and ByBit accounted for around 70% of this spot trading volume.
The entry of a traditional institution like SIX may therefore bring about new competitive conditions that may affect the dominance of these platforms in the market.
