Japan to Have Blockchain-Based Stock Exchange in 2022

SBI Holdings has reportedly partnered with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) to launch a digital stock exchange slated for spring 2022.

• SBI and SMFG are expected to launch the platform in Osaka to compete against the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), according to a Nikkei report Thursday.
• The exchange is expected to be Japan’s first such stock exchange, allowing investors to trade digital securities using blockchain technology.
• In March, the companies will set up an operator called the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX), with SBI to own 60%, and SMFG 40%, per the report.
• SBI and SMFG, which both have brokerage arms, will put in place a governance structure to prevent any conflict of interest.
• The news comes after the TSE was criticized for a major hardware glitch in September caused the worst outage ever for the world’s third-largest equity market.
• The ODX is expected to start trading digital securities in 2023.

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