The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted a licence to AsiaNext, a joint venture between the SIX group and SBI Digital Asset Holdings, as a Recognised Market Operator (RMO).

The digital asset exchange tailored exclusively to institutions will serve as a venue for banks, family offices, asset managers, broker dealers, prime brokers, hedge funds and market makers seeking to engage in digital assets.

The license allows AsiaNext to operate an organised market for securities and collective investment schemes and sits alongside its in-principle approval Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence from MAS granted on 14 June 2023. This milestone highlights AsiaNext’s stringent compliance and risk management standards, as well as Singapore’s unwavering commitment to building an innovative and responsible digital asset ecosystem.

Chief Executive Officer of AsiaNext, Chong Kok Kee commented:

“We are elated to have received the full RMO licence from MAS this week. Since our inception, the team has worked tirelessly to construct an institutional-grade exchange based on stringent compliance and risk management standards that govern our entire organisation as well as the multi-asset classes that will be traded on our venue. We view this recognition by MAS as a positive shift in the industry, where firms that are able to responsibly contribute to a safe digital asset ecosystem can now realise their ambitions for the mainstream adoption of digital assets.”

Recognising a growing institutional appetite for trading digital assets as well as a scarcity of regulated and secure venues to meet this demand, SBI Digital Asset Holdings and SIX Group forged a joint-venture in 2021 to launch AsiaNext as an institutional-grade digital exchange. With both RMO and CMS (in-principle) licences now in hand, AsiaNext is ready to provide integrated listing, trading, and post-trade services for digital assets.

In addition to its own capabilities, AsiaNext is part of a broader digital ecosystem built by both the SIX group and SBI group. Siding with AsiaNext on the SBI ecosystem are Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) a Japanese exchange preparing to launch digital securities, SBI Digital Markets a CMS licensed entity offering primary issuances and other services, SBI Zodia Custody a JV planning to launch institutional custody in the digital asset space, among others. From the SIX group ecosystem, AsiaNext can leverage SIX Digital Exchange a secondary market for digital securities in Switzerland and a digital CSD.