Deutsche Börse and Commerzbank Enter the Digital Assets Space
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: April 30, 2021
Deutsche Börse and Commerzbank are entering a strategic partnership with newly-formed fintech 360X to develop new blockchain-based digital marketplaces and ecosystems for existing real asset classes.
The 360X team will be led by Carlo Kölzer, founder and head of Deutsche Börse’s 360T FX trading platform, and with the founding partners will work on digital marketplaces to generate new revenue potential. The first reference transaction (minimum viable product) for two asset classes is planned for this year, the exchange group says.
“We create transparent and liquid trading venues for assets that have not yet existed in digital markets,” says Kölzer. “We are therefore starting with trading venues for art and real estate. 360X is set up as a highly scalable model so further asset classes will follow.”
The assets will be made investable and tradable via tokenisation and fractionalisation. Tokenised real assets are mapped on blockchain to facilitate access for investors and allow the fractionalisation of the underlying asset.
The three partners say they maintain the highest standards of legal certainty, data protection, and compliance with regulatory frameworks as well as for the establishment of an orderly secondary market.
“360X aims at a megatrend.,” explains Kölzer. “Digital assets are an exponential growth market. We create new ecosystems and offer investors innovative investment opportunities in assets which they did not have access to before. This creates added value for the financial sector.”
Theodor Weimer, CEO of Deutsche Börse, adds, “I am convinced that Deutsche Börse has to venture into new asset classes. In the future, we will see a broad tokenisation and digitisation of assets that are not tradable today. 360X is the new innovative platform for serial marketplace creation that we are building with our partners.”
Meanwhile, Manfred Knof, CEO of Commerzbank, says, “We take real assets to digital marketplaces. With our and Deutsche Börse’s investment in 360X we see the potential to actively shape one of these digital asset ecosystems of the future. Commerzbank has many years of experience with DLT technology and is a sought-after expert in the emerging asset universe. With pilot transactions in the areas of payments, securities and trade finance, as well as strategic partnerships with technology and internet companies, and cooperation with DLT networks, Commerzbank is a reliable partner in tomorrow’s digital banking.”