Digital Asset LABMarket Structure Research
SWISS TOKENISED SECURITIES MARKET MAP
The only country to recognise ledger-based securities in permanent law — though the users are mainly banks and what trades is mostly bonds.
01 · STATUS
“Approved,” “rule effective,” and “live in production” are different states. This site keeps them separate.
Adopted on 25 September 2020 and fully in force from 1 August 2021. It writes “ledger-based securities” into law as a legal category. Unlike a time-limited exemption or sandbox, this is permanent — the decisive difference from other markets.
A licence category under the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FinMIA), permitting multilateral trading of DLT securities. It is a purpose-built category, not an existing exchange licence stretched to fit.
On 18 March 2025 FINMA licensed what it called “the first DLT trading facility to date.” BX Digital is a sister company of BX Swiss, part of the Boerse Stuttgart group, and plans settlement on Ethereum. The offer is aimed only at supervised participants, usually banks.
In September 2021 FINMA authorised SIX Digital Exchange as a central securities depository and SDX Trading as a stock exchange — the first such pairing anywhere for token trading. UBS, Commerzbank and the World Bank are among the issuers that have used it.
On 6 May 2026 FINMA was reported to have approved merging SDX into SIX SIS, the conventional central securities depository, so that traditional securities, DLT securities and crypto assets can be held and settled in one place. This is the stage of folding the experiment back into the existing infrastructure.
A DLT trading facility serves supervised participants, usually banks. The framework may be permanent, but it is not open as a venue where ordinary individuals trade directly.
02 · OWNERSHIP
Using the SEC’s January 2026 taxonomy as the anchor, classification follows legal structure and authoritative ownership records—not the appearance of the token.
Where the U.S. order and the UK and Hong Kong sandboxes carve exceptions out of existing rules, Switzerland created a new legal vessel in private law. That is why it has no expiry date.
SDX has operated this way since 2021, used by issuers including UBS, Commerzbank and the World Bank.
The legal framework is the most advanced, but what actually trades is mostly digital bonds — not shares themselves.
03 · TRADING ROUTES
Ownership model and trading venue are separate axes. The rules and settlement path differ by route.
A purpose-built licence category under FinMIA for multilateral trading of DLT securities. BX Digital received the first such licence in March 2025.
FINMA authorised both the exchange and the CSD in 2021. Issuance, trading and settlement of digital bonds happen in one place.
04 · REALITY CHECK
24/7 trading, instant settlement, self-custody and fractional buying are the four things most often promised. None of them apply uniformly across the models.
Important caveat: This is the single biggest difference.
Important caveat: An advanced framework is not the same as one individuals can use.
05 · ECOSYSTEM
This is not a regulator-approved company list. It maps roles that firms have publicly disclosed or filed, with sources.
The authority that grants DLT trading facility licences. It authorised SDX in 2021 and BX Digital in 2025.
Holds both exchange and CSD licences, handling issuance, trading and settlement of digital bonds.
Holder of the first DLT trading facility licence. A sister company of BX Swiss, part of the Boerse Stuttgart group, with settlement planned on Ethereum.
Switzerland's conventional central securities depository; approval to absorb SDX was reported in May 2026.
06 · LICENCES
Registration, effectiveness of a filing, approval and exemption are different concepts. “The SEC is involved” does not mean the same thing in each case.
CautionIt serves supervised participants, usually banks — not retail.
CautionIn 2021 this was the first pairing of an exchange and a CSD anywhere for token trading.
CautionA different category from a DLT trading facility; SDX uses this one.
06 · REGULATION
Statutes, SEC orders, SRO filings, no-action letters, staff views and company plans are not given the same legal weight.
The federal act adapting Swiss law to distributed ledger technology, introducing ledger-based securities as a legal category.
From this date ledger-based securities exist as a permanent institution, not a time-limited measure.
FINMA authorised SIX Digital Exchange as a CSD and SDX Trading as a stock exchange — the first such pairing anywhere for token trading.
FINMA licensed BX Digital AG under FinMIA to conduct multilateral trading of DLT securities. The offer is aimed only at supervised participants.
Aimed at holding traditional securities, DLT securities and crypto assets in one place. Reported; the completion date is not confirmed.
07 · SOURCES
SEC, DTCC/DTC, NYSE/ICE and Nasdaq are prioritized. Company materials are clearly identified as company sources.
FINMA · 2025-03-18 · Primary source
FINMA · Primary source
State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) · Primary source
FINMA · 2021-09-10 · Primary source
SIX Digital Exchange · Primary source
SIX Group · Primary source
Ledger Insights · 2026-05-06 · Company source
08 · METHODOLOGY
First identify what the investor legally holds, then identify the trading route, and finally verify the authoritative source and operating status. The word “tokenized” alone does not determine shareholder rights, counterparty risk or settlement cycle.