Today, Deutsche Börse announced the launch of a regulated platform for the spot exchange of crypto assets.
The platform is called DBDX (Deutsche Börse Digital Exchange) and allows crypto trading.
DBDX: the institutional spot crypto trading platform by Deutsche Börse
DBDX is a regulated crypto trading platform, mainly aimed at institutional clients. Together with Crypto Finance, it provides a complete institutional-level crypto ecosystem for trading, settlement, and custody of crypto assets.
The idea is to fill a gap in the market, as platforms for spot exchange of cryptocurrencies are generally aimed specifically at retail investors, and not at large institutional investors.
According to Deutsche Börse, the institutional crypto market is growing, but it requires a complete suite of innovative and secure financial solutions for digital assets that can be used from a single access point.
Initially, in order to trade on the DBDX, you will need to submit a specific request for quotation (RfQ), followed by multilateral negotiation. The trading venue will be managed by Deutsche Börse, while Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH will provide settlement and custody services.
The Deutsche Börse Group
The Deutsche Börse Group is one of the leading organizations worldwide in the financial markets sector.
It manages the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB), which is the main German stock exchange and the twelfth largest in the world in terms of overall market capitalization. It is also the third oldest stock exchange in the world still in operation, having been founded as far back as 1585.
The main trading venue of Deutsche Börse is Xetra (XETR), but it also operates Clearstream, Eurex, STOXX, and Qontigo.
The group has more than 13,000 employees, and is based in the financial center of Frankfurt, with offices also in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Chicago and Sydney.
Deutsche Börse was founded in 1992, and the following year the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange) changed its name to Deutsche Börse AG.
Last month, the German financial market regulatory authority, BaFin, granted Crypto Finance four licenses that include regulated services for trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets in Germany, making it possible to launch the new platform, as it had already received a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license.
The impact on crypto spot prices of the new Deutsche Börse platform
DBDX is the first European crypto trading platform specifically designed for large investors and institutional speculators.
This is not a platform where you can exchange crypto derivatives like ETFs, but where you can directly exchange tokens. It is not yet clear if they can also be withdrawn, as it includes a custody service that allows customers not to handle them directly.
The fact is that it is the spot markets that determine the prices of cryptocurrencies, therefore the impact of these platforms on the crypto markets is indirect, and not direct as in the case of ETFs.
It is therefore possible that, with the same inflows and outflows of capital, the impact on the crypto markets of this type of platforms may be even greater than that of ETFs on traditional stock exchanges. Obviously, the impact will be proportional to the amount of capital inflows and outflows, which are currently unknown.
However, it remains very interesting that with platforms like DBDX institutional investors and speculators can finally enter the crypto spot markets, since these were effectively closed to them until now.
What matters most is the magnitude of capital flows, especially inflows, that such clients can bring to the crypto markets. These are clients who have significantly higher spending power than the classic retail users who use the traditional crypto spot trading platforms currently in use.
The comments
The Head of FX & Digital Assets at Deutsche Börse, Carlo Kölzer, stated:
Our new solution represents a turning point for digital ecosystems.
Our goal is to provide reliable market operations for crypto resources, ensuring transparency, security, and regulatory compliance for institutional clients in Europe.
This improves the integrity and security of the market. Crypto Finance, with its digital native capabilities in trading, settlement, and custody of crypto assets, will be a fundamental part of the value chain.
It is a first step towards the realization of Deutsche Börse’s ambition in the Horizon 2026 strategy to play a leading role in the digitalization of asset classes.”
The CEO of Crypto Finance, Stijn Vander Straeten, has added:
“As a well-established Swiss company with a strong commitment to regulatory compliance and the provision of high-level financial solutions, we have further strengthened our position with the introduction of Crypto Finance in Germany as a settlement and custody agent.”
This marks a crucial moment in our mission to cultivate a resilient and reliable ecosystem of digital assets together with Deutsche Börse, while also strengthening the consolidated and regulated offering of custody and settlement of Crypto Finance in Germany.
