Deutsche Börse Enters the Crypto Fray
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: March 5, 2024
With cryptoasset prices surging following the granting of Bitcoin ETFs in the US, Deutsche Börse has launched the Deutsche Börse Digital Exchange (DBDX), a crypto spot platform for institutional clients.
The exchange says DBDX offers a fully regulated and secure ecosystem for trading, settlement and custody of crypto assets that leverages the existing connectivity to market participants. UT also claims the offering fills a gap in the market and enables it to be at the centre of the growing institutional market for digital assets, while providing clients with a comprehensive suite of financial solutions for digital assets from a single point of access and across the value chain.
As a first step, trading on the DBDX will take place on a Request for Quote basis, although the exchange says multilateral trading will follow. Deutsche Börse operates the trading venue and Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH will provide settlement and custody services.
“Our new solution is a game changer for digital ecosystems,” says Carlo Kölzer, head of FX & digital assets at Deutsche Börse. “We aim to provide trusted market operations for crypto assets, ensuring transparency, security, and regulatory compliance for institutional clients in Europe. This enhances market integrity and security.
“Crypto Finance, with its digital native capabilities in trading, settlement, and custody for crypto assets, will be a key part of the value chain,” he adds. “It is a first step towards realising Deutsche Börse’s ambition in the Horizon 2026 strategy to play a leading role in the digitalisation of asset classes.”
Stijn Vander Straeten, CEO of Crypto Finance, adds, “This marks a pivotal moment in our mission to cultivate a resilient and trusted digital asset ecosystem together with Deutsche Börse, while also strengthening Crypto Finance’s well-established and regulated custody and settlement offering in Germany.”
At the end of 2023 Deutsche Börse Group reaffirmed within the Horizon 2026 strategy its objective to create a digital asset platform. In February, German regulator BaFin granted Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH four licences which include regulated digital asset trading, settlement, and custody services in Germany. This was another pre-condition to start the platform, which had received a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) licence before already, the exchange group says.