Deutsche Borse buys Swiss crypto trading firm
12:10, 29 June 2021
Deutsche Borse Group (DBG), the operator of Germany’s stock market, has acquired a majority stake in Crypto Finance (CF), a Swiss financial group that offers trading, storage and investment in digital assets to institutional and professional clients. The investment is reported to be “in a moderate three-digit CHF million range.”
The acquisition further extends DBG’s digital asset business by providing a direct entry point for investments, including post-trade services such as custody.
CF is a fully licensed securities firm that offers 24/7 trading and brokerage of more than 200 digital assets in combination with a highly secure in-house custody solution. The firm is under consolidated supervision by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
“Digital assets will transform the financial industry. There is increasing demand from established financial institutions who are looking to become active in this new asset class and want a trusted partner,” said Thomas Book, DBG’s executive board member for Trading & Clearing.
Going strong into digital assets
DBG is looking to build a trusted and fully regulated digital asset ecosystem in Europe to complement its traditional services.
“Crypto Finance perfectly complements our recent offerings like 360X, the innovative DLT-based platform for serial marketplace creation, and our leading, centrally-cleared crypto ETNs,” added Thomas Book talking about the company’s move into the exchange-traded note and distributed-ledger technology spaces.
Meanwhile, CF believes this partnership will enable thousands of financial institutions and professional investors in Europe to instantly enter this new asset class in a way they are familiar with.
Founded in 2017, CF currently has 55 employees at its offices in Switzerland and Singapore. Founder Jan Brzezek and the current management team will continue to lead the company and retain significant personal holdings.
“Since the beginning, our goal was to bridge the old and new worlds,” Brzezek said.
“We are excited to team up with a neutral partner like Deutsche Borse, who brings trust, reputation, and expertise in traditional financial market infrastructure. In combination with our proven expertise in crypto assets and the underlying technologies, we can now achieve our goals much faster.”
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A growth year
DBG expects higher operating results this year fuelled by positive market evolution and new investments. The company anticipates net revenue of around €3.5bn ($4.16bn) for the full year, up by almost 9% compared to 2020.
The operating profit (EBITDA) should also increase by some 6.5% to €2bn, according to the group’s outlook.
The group’s shares are up 6.3% since the start of January, less than half of the 14% increase recorded by the German blue-chip index DAX.
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