Exclusive: The Boerse Stuttgart Group’s Digital Strategy

The Boerse Stuttgart Group likely operates the largest crypto business among European stock exchanges.

What began in 2019 with BISON – a crypto trading app for retail investors – has since evolved into a comprehensive infrastructure platform for:

Among its clients are leading financial institutions such as DZ Bank, KfW, and Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank.

Just a few weeks ago, the exchange group became the first German institution to secure a MiCA license – granting it the official green light for European expansion. But what does this mean in concrete terms for its digital strategy? How are European banks and institutions currently approaching crypto and tokenization? And how does Boerse Stuttgart plan to defend its position in an increasingly competitive market?

We discussed these and many other questions with Dr. Ulli Spankowski – founder and CEO of BISON, Chief Digital Officer of Boerse Stuttgart Group, and Managing Director of Boerse Stuttgart Digital.

Within the Boerse Stuttgart Group, you wear multiple hats: You’re not only the founder and CEO of BISON but also Chief Digital Officer of the Group and Managing Director of Boerse Stuttgart Digital. With all these responsibilities, what currently occupies most of your time?

Every day looks different, but roughly 80% of my work is focused on the digital business, due to my role on the extended management board and as CDO. On the retail side, that includes expanding BISON with new features. On the institutional side, I’m in talks with banks and institutions looking to integrate crypto infrastructure into their businesses. We’re seeing strong traction there and hold multiple conversations with Tier 1 banks across Europe each week.

You’ve already mentioned that your digital business spans several segments. Before we go deeper into individual strategies, can you give us a high-level overview of your digital business pillars?

There are three main pillars:

Each of these branches emerged step by step – each new solution was built on insights and demands from the previous.

Our first product was BISON, designed to give retail investors safe and easy access to crypto trading. Next, we expanded into custody with our own custodian, Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody. The success of BISON then led us to establish our own exchange for digital assets to handle BISON’s order flow – this was the birth of Boerse Stuttgart Digital.

Once we had retail covered, we began focusing on institutional clients with our brokerage, exchange, and custody solutions – institutions that wanted either to access crypto themselves or to offer it to their clients. At the same time, we started building BX Digital, our venue for trading tokenized real-world assets.

Looking back, your development seems highly strategic – starting with trading, then building complementary products that you also offer to others. Was this trajectory planned at Boerse Stuttgart?

Planning that exact path is impossible. You never know when regulatory frameworks will shift and how that will affect the market. The recent Trump election win and the momentum that followed within months is a perfect example.

It’s more about staying alert, identifying opportunities, and acting at the right time.

Our move into custody, for example, was driven by necessity – we couldn’t find a partner we trusted with our clients’ assets. Offering our infrastructure to others, however, was a strategic choice and part of our DNA from the beginning.

The market has evolved, and segments like custody are now highly competitive. How do you differentiate yourselves from others?

Our unique selling point is offering the entire crypto value chain – modular and fully regulated. Clients can choose which components – trading, custody, or the full suite – to integrate into their existing systems without switching providers.

Unlike competitors who initially acquired licenses in less strictly regulated jurisdictions like Eastern Europe, Malta, or the Baltics, we built our business from day one under BaFin supervision in Germany, inheriting the risk management and compliance standards of a 160-year-old securities exchange. That’s a key advantage, especially for institutions like banks and asset managers.

Which institutions already use your infrastructure?

How has demand evolved over the past 12 months? Are banks showing increased interest in your solutions?

Absolutely. As mentioned, we’re having strong conversations with major financial institutions. The U.S. election and the new administration’s stance on crypto have significantly impacted how European banks and institutions perceive the space.

At the same time, MiCA regulation is creating clear rules across the EU, giving the sector momentum. Before this, legal uncertainty had caused many institutions to hesitate.

Which part of your infrastructure is currently seeing the most demand?

There’s demand across all segments. In retail, many banks realize they’re losing customers – and revenue – without a crypto offering. Business intelligence teams can track where client funds are flowing and calculate exactly how many billions leave each year for platforms offering products they could deliver themselves through a reliable partner.

On the institutional side, some players want to trade actively themselves. Custody is also becoming increasingly relevant – especially as tokenization gains traction.

If I had to estimate: 80–90% of institutions want to offer crypto services to their retail or institutional clients. The remaining 10–20% are mainly interested in custody for tokenization initiatives.

To be honest, I’m surprised tokenization is such a big driver. Despite all the hype, actual traction seems limited – most initiatives never make it past the PoC phase. How do you view this?

Tokenization is a mid-to-long-term play. No major institution expects to generate billions in revenue from it within the next 12 months. It’s about strategic readiness: market infrastructure is shifting, and those who don’t explore tokenization now risk being left behind.

Clearing and settlement efficiency gains are also key drivers. Increasingly, institutions are experimenting with tokenizing equities, bonds, and funds.

What needs to happen for tokenization to really take off?

One major hurdle is the secondary market. Many tokenized assets lack liquidity because established marketplaces don’t yet exist. Building such markets requires huge investments and time. That’s why I think we’ll first see major trading venues for tokenized traditional securities – not real estate or art. Another issue is the lack of “onchain cash”, or blockchain-based fiat.

What’s your timeline? When will we see more traction?

I’d estimate two to three years. A major unlock would be the launch of a digital euro, enabling true onchain settlement with real money. But the ECB likely won’t deliver that until 2028.

In the meantime, we’ll see strong momentum toward euro stablecoins for settlement. Firms like DWS and Société Générale are already working on their own stablecoins. Whether those are just a bridge or the long-term solution remains to be seen.

What will the securities value chain look like in 5–10 years? Who will benefit, and who’s at risk?

Clearing and settlement will move increasingly on-chain. Trading and price discovery will likely stay off-chain, as current market infrastructure – exchanges, brokers, liquidity providers – is already highly efficient.

Winners will be those who act early and position themselves strategically. That includes both new entrants and established players. Network effects will be crucial – those who attract a critical mass of market participants will dominate.

At risk are those who don’t move. I don’t think existing clearing/settlement players will automatically be displaced, but ignoring the tech shift or reacting too late could lead to losing relevance.

Among traditional European exchanges, you’ve built by far the largest crypto business. Do you see yourselves as challengers to the incumbents?

The real question is: who are our competitors? Other European exchanges, or new players from the U.S. and Asia outside the traditional exchange ecosystem? The landscape is highly fragmented.

In any case, we don’t focus on competitors – we focus on building the best product for our clients, because that’s what drives growth. And that approach is paying off: 25% of our group’s total revenues in 2024 already came from the digital business – and growth continues.

Which KPIs do you optimize for to secure your market position?

That depends on the segment:

For tokenization, the critical question is: which infrastructure do we build on? A strong dependency on one network can lead to lock-in. That’s why we build blockchain-agnostic solutions.

Final question: With your MiCAR license secured, is European expansion your key goal this year?

Yes, absolutely. We’re already active in several countries – Italy, France, Austria, Spain – but our clear goal is to solidify our position as Europe’s leading crypto infrastructure provider.