The Frankfurt Stock Exchange will focus on Crypto Finance
Deutsche Börse (which controls the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) acquires the majority of the Swiss company Crypto Finance which provides trading, storage and investments in digital assets
Deutsche Börse Group will enhance its cryptocurrency and digital offerings in Europe.
The company that controls the Frankfurt Stock Exchange acquired a majority stake in Crypto Finance AG for more than 100 million francs (108.6 million dollars).
The latter is a Swiss company that operates under the supervision of FINMA (the country's market supervisory authority) and offers trading, storage and investment in digital assets to institutional and professional clients.
Thanks to a two-thirds majority in the Crypto Finance platform, Deutsche Börse delves deeper into the cryptocurrency asset class. It will be able to offer custody and other services related to cryptocurrencies to institutional and professional clients.
We also recall that last year the German exchange had unsuccessfully tried to take over Borsa Italiana from the London Stock Exchange .
DETAILS ABOUT THE OPERATION
Crypto Finance founder and CEO Jan Brzezek will continue to run the business. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval. The companies did not provide further details of the transaction.
THE STRATEGY OF DEUTSCHE BÖRSE
“Digital assets will transform the financial sector. There is a growing demand from established financial institutions that are looking to become active in this new asset class and want a trusted partner, ”said Thomas Book, executive board member of Trading & Clearing at Deutsche Börse.
“We are thrilled that Crypto Finance is joining the group. It will help us tremendously on our journey towards creating a trusted and fully regulated digital asset ecosystem for institutional investors in Europe, ”concluded Book.
WHAT SWISS CRYPTO FINANCE DOES
Crypto Finance offers trading services – 24/7 – on over 200 digital assets in combination with a highly secure internal custody solution. Professional and institutional clients can invest directly in digital assets, without having to create their own infrastructure and related operating platforms.
In addition, an asset management unit allows investors to access digital asset classes via an investment fund offering.
THE INCURSION IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Deutsche Börse said its goal is to create a neutral, transparent and highly scalable digital asset ecosystem under European law.
However, acquiring a stake in the Swiss company is not Deutsche Börse's first foray into the safekeeping of cryptocurrencies. The exchange was originally a member of the Swiss consortium Custodigit along with Swisscom and the digital asset bank Sygnum, but has since left the group.
Meanwhile, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, owned by Deutsche Börse, hosts multiple centrally cleared Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) linked to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
As Cointelegraph reported, Deutsche Börse has invested $ 12 million in a digital assets firm in partnership with Commerzbank. While they haven't yet adopted a regulatory framework on full spectrum cryptocurrencies and blockchains, German authorities legalized crypto securities in December 2020.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/la-borsa-di-francoforte-puntera-su-crypto-finance/ on Tue, 29 Jun 2021 14:26:23 +0000.