Exclusive: BX Digital receives FINMA-License

"While the U.S. talks a big game in crypto, Europe – and especially Switzerland – is taking the lead in tokenized assets."

Those are the words of Lidia Kurt, CEO of the Swiss trading platform BX Digital.

Last week, the Boerse Stuttgart Group subsidiary received a license from FINMA – making it the first trading platform in Switzerland permitted to offer banks and financial institutions trading in tokenized assets via public blockchains.

We took the licensing event as an opportunity to meet with Lidia at the Frankfurt Crypto Assets Conference. In our conversation, she reveals:

Lidia, congratulations on receiving the FINMA license! What does this milestone mean for BX Digital and the European financial market?

Thank you! For us, it's a huge breakthrough, as we can now officially launch our platform. But the significance goes well beyond BX Digital – it’s the first license for a DLT trading system under the new Swiss legislation, making us pioneers in the European space.

In particular, this shows a clear lead internationally: while the U.S. makes big announcements in crypto, Europe – and especially Switzerland – is assuming a leadership role in tokenized assets. This new infrastructure will pave the way for a more efficient, transparent capital market.

BX Digital is building a trading platform for tokenized assets. How does your approach differ from traditional exchanges?

We combine the best of both worlds: for trading, we use proven systems so that banks can easily connect using their existing setups. The real innovation is in settlement, which takes place on the blockchain.

At the core of our platform is a specialized "Delivery versus Payment" smart contract on Ethereum. It ensures asset and payment are exchanged without counterparty risk. Once the asset is locked in the smart contract, we trigger a payment via the Swiss Interbank Clearing System (SIC). After payment is confirmed, the smart contract automatically releases the asset to the buyer.

A few years ago, SDX – the DLT-based platform of the Swiss stock exchange – received a similar license. Structurally, how does your license and setup differ?

A fundamental difference: SDX received its license under the old financial market law – before the specific DLT legislation came into effect. That entails significant limitations, especially for efficient blockchain integration. The new law allows for a much more direct and effective use of blockchains.

More importantly: we deliberately rely on public networks like Ethereum, while SDX operates on private ones. That’s a fundamentally different approach.

With public blockchains, we can plug into a living ecosystem – with billions in tokenized assets and numerous issuers. Instead of building a closed system from scratch, we open ourselves up to the global market.

What does using public blockchains mean for your clients in practical terms?

It mainly means access to a much broader range of assets. On a private blockchain, every product has to be custom-built for your platform – a tedious, lengthy process.

On public blockchains, countless tokenized assets already exist that we can offer after appropriate due diligence. This dramatically accelerates the development of a liquid market.

We also benefit from an existing infrastructure ecosystem: nodes, wallets, standards – it's all there and gives us a solid foundation. With our vision of an open structure, we can grow alongside the dynamic public blockchain industry.

What specific products are you bringing to market now?

We have a promising pipeline of exciting products across multiple asset classes: equities, bonds, funds, and structured products. These will go through our listing process step by step.

Especially interesting are tokenized money market funds – we already have concrete demand from large Swiss corporations. These companies use such funds for daily liquidity management because, unlike bank deposits, they carry no counterparty risk.

What advantages do tokenized money market funds offer compared to traditional ones?

Imagine a company realizes at 11 a.m. that it needs liquidity by 3 p.m. In the traditional system, it can sell its money market fund – but won’t receive the funds for one or two days.

With our solution, the capital is available within minutes. That not only improves responsiveness but also capital efficiency: companies can invest a larger portion of their balance sheet instead of maintaining large liquidity buffers.

You mention significant cost savings through blockchain settlement. How substantial are those really?

For domestic transactions in Switzerland, we reduce settlement costs by 40 to 50%. For cross-border transactions, the difference is even more pronounced. If someone buys a European product in Switzerland, the traditional system can charge several francs – or even double-digit amounts – per transaction, depending on asset class and jurisdiction.

We can lower those costs even further because we apply a flat blockchain fee – regardless of geographic boundaries.

However, you're launching on Ethereum, where average gas fees are around $15. Doesn’t that undermine your cost advantages?

At launch, we are subsidizing Ethereum gas fees for our clients. It was important for us to start with a blockchain that meets the highest security standards and enjoys broad trust.

In the long run, we’re pursuing a multichain strategy – we’ll be present wherever our clients are active and where demand is highest.

It’s also worth noting how markets have evolved differently: in Switzerland, nearly everything runs on Ethereum at the moment, while in Germany, Polygon is dominant.

Which banks can participate in your system? Are there geographic restrictions?

Currently, participants need access to the Swiss Interbank Clearing system (SIC). This is primarily, but not exclusively, available to Swiss banks. Some foreign institutions also have direct SIC access.

Alternatively, international banks can connect via a Swiss bank’s infrastructure. On the product side, we take a clearly global approach and are in conversations with issuers worldwide.

How large is the team behind BX Digital?

We’re actually a very lean operation.

What’s crucial, though, is our integration within the Boerse Stuttgart Group: our sister company BX Swiss is a key partner, especially in operating the trading system. We also leverage group functions like marketing, communications, and finance. This setup allows us to move quickly while relying on the stability of an established exchange.

One final question: the lack of secondary markets has long been cited as the biggest hurdle for tokenized assets. Does your solution now remove that barrier?

The technical and regulatory hurdles have indeed been removed. What I still hear often, however, is the question of the immediate business case. But it’s important to understand: this market is just emerging – with limited products and volumes for now.

Right now is the perfect time for banks to enter this space. Our solution allows them to do so with minimal risk, as they can stay within their existing cash processes – without counterparty risk.

In the long term, the world will inevitably move toward "onchain cash," especially for use cases like automated dividend or interest payments. Whether this happens via a wholesale CBDC, tokenized deposits, or new forms of stablecoins remains to be seen – but the trend is unmistakable.