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ToggleSwitzerland has taken another historic step in promoting global digital finance compliance.
As the operator of core infrastructure for the Swiss financial market, the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) announced that it has successfully obtained approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) for a major structural change, which will officially bridge the final gap between traditional securities and cryptocurrency assets.
Unifying digital and traditional assets, breaking the dual-track system
Over the past few years, SIX has adopted a "dual-track system" to handle different types of assets: traditional market trading is handled by the established SIX SIS AG , while blockchain-based digital assets are operated independently by the dedicated SIX Digital Exchange AG .
With FINMA's latest green light approval, SIX will undergo a deep restructuring, directly integrating its digital central depository (CSD) into the long-established SIX SIS AG unit. This integration completely eliminates the infrastructure gap between traditional finance and digital assets, creating a single, integrated platform under a single regulated legal entity capable of supporting end-to-end post-trade operations across asset classes.
Approval for cryptocurrency custody lowers the barrier to entry for institutional investors.
Besides the deep integration of the systems, the most exciting part of this regulatory approval for the market is that FINMA has officially authorized SIX to provide cryptocurrency custody services through this merged central securities depository.
This is a major boon for the traditional financial sector eager to enter the cryptocurrency arena. In the future, banks and asset management companies will be able to manage their cryptocurrency assets using the same trusted FINMA regulatory framework as for traditional instruments such as stocks and bonds. This development brings obvious advantages:
- Extremely high legal and operational safeguards: The institution's crypto assets will be listed alongside traditional assets in the same market-tested depository institution, significantly enhancing legal certainty and asset security.
- Seamless operating experience: Market participants no longer need to manage multiple complex systems for different assets, but only need to rely on a simplified, single connection gateway, which greatly reduces the administrative burden.
Expanding the European digital finance landscape
SIX Group, jointly owned by approximately 120 financial institutions, has always regarded bridging the gap between traditional finance and the digital economy as a core strategy, and its operating performance in 2025 has remained robust.
Rafael Moral Santiago, Head of Securities Services and Executive Committee Member at SIX, stated that the company's ultimate goal is to provide financial institutions with a "single and secure gateway" to digital assets. He explained:
"Expanding existing central securities depositories to include cryptocurrency custody perfectly combines the latest innovative technologies with the stability of existing systems."
This plan is also a key piece of SIX's 2030 vision, aiming to become the most comprehensive integrated post-trade solutions provider in Europe. Industry experts generally believe that FINMA's approval sends a strong signal that digital asset infrastructure is maturing rapidly; with increased regulatory clarity and system integration, the adoption of cryptocurrencies by traditional institutions is expected to accelerate significantly.
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