The Swiss stock exchange is just one of several trading platforms gearing up for an anticipated wave of cryptoasset trading. So what’s behind this move? The SIX Group, which runs the Swiss exchange, is one of the front-runners in a race to build a blockchain-style distributed ledger platform that is required to trade such assets. Distributed ledger technology (DLT), which includes blockchain, promises a number of efficiencies: faster, cheaper trading, a reduction in paperwork and the option of issuing numerous tokens to each security. Dividing ownership rights of high value assets, such as real estate, would lower financial barriers for smaller players to invest and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to more easily issue shares. Things have moved on since bitcoin and the initial coin offering (ICO) crowd investing wave burst onto the scene. The new kid on the block is the security token, a digital representation of asset ownership. A security token is encrypted digital ...
