Digital Assets Services

SIX recognizes the transformative potential of digital assets and is dedicated to providing a regulated institutional grade infrastructure that fosters liquidity, transparency, and efficiency in the digital assets’ ecosystem. Since going live in Q4 2021, we have been actively collaborating with partners and our members. Together, we are committed to promoting and building a new market infrastructure for digital assets to support the transition of the financial place.

In 2022 SIX became the first regulated market infrastructure to issue a digital bond. We Have Built a Leading DLT-Based Post-Trade Business with Many “World’s Firsts”. We have since supported digital products related to equities and funds with more in development with over CHF2bn worth of securities having been issued through SDX for some of the world’s largest banks, including UBS, Commerzbank and the World Bank.

Many of these digital securities have settled against the Swiss National Bank Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC) – also a world first – as part of Project Helvetia. We therefore have extensive tokenisation and issuance infrastructure and expertise which can be leveraged for new tokenized securities and RWAs.

SIX also provides Custody, Staking and Collateral Management services for Crypto Currencies 

Digital Assets are a core pillar of the SIX strategy. By embedding Digital Capabilities in our traditional infrastructure, we are working towards creating a seamless experience for our clients with “one plug to two worlds” within a fully regulated environment, enabling clients to transition to digital capabilities whenever and to the extent they decide to.

The target architecture of the Digital Asset Platform is designed to be asset‑ and ledger‑agnostic, enabling seamless interaction between traditional securities, tokenized assets, and different DLT or non‑DLT ledgers. Standardized interfaces and shared core services (e.g. custody, settlement, eligibility, and corporate actions) allow assets to move, be serviced, and be used consistently across platforms. This ensures that digital and traditional assets can be managed, transferred, and reused within one integrated post‑trade ecosystem, without creating siloed infrastructures.

Regulation of digital assets is becoming more structured and aligned with traditional finance.

In Switzerland, authorities like FINMA are building on an already advanced framework, adding clearer rules for areas like stablecoins, custody, and crypto service providers. The focus is on supporting innovation while ensuring strong investor protection and financial stability.

In 2026, SIX received FINMA approval to provide crypto custody services through its licensed Central Securities Depository. This marks a significant milestone in the development of regulated institutional market infrastructure for crypto assets.

Globally, markets are moving in a similar direction. Frameworks such as MiCA in the EU are setting comprehensive standards for issuers and service providers, with increasing emphasis on transparency, risk management, and compliance.

Overall, digital assets are shifting from a lightly regulated space to a fully integrated part of the financial system.