Apex Group, a financial services provider, has revealed its partnership with Crypto Finance AG, a crypto startup and a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse Group. The alliance aims to offer institutional-grade digital assets products.
Apex Group and Crypto Finance Provide Institutional-Grade Crypto Investment Offerings
As part of the Deutsche Börse Group, Crypto Finance AG provides investment, custody and brokerage solutions for cryptocurrencies to institutional clients. It is regulated by the Swiss FINMA, providing authorized access to investment, trading and secure storage of a broad class of digital assets.
According to Wednesday's press release, Apex Group receives an institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure from Crypto Finance, which will commence with an issuance program for structured products supported by digital assets.
Bruce Jackson, the Chief of Digital Asset Funds and Business at Apex Group, has stated that the company has chosen to partner with Crypto Finance as the company acknowledges the significance of creating a robust institutional framework that meets the regulatory requirements and needs of institutional investors.
"Today's announcement is an important next step in our global strategy of institutionalising digital markets, enabling institutional capital to access this digital asset class within the same secure and regulated framework they are familiar with from the traditional financial markets," Jackson added.
The partnership between Apex Group and Crypto Finance aims to provide professional and institutional investors with a safe and regulated means to create their own crypto-related investment products. This initiative allows banks, family offices, asset managers, and other professional investors to access tailored crypto investment products, including actively managed certificates (AMCs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
The cooperation agreement will benefit both parties, as Apex Group will run a Swiss-independent securitization Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), resulting in a dependable setup with restricted counterparty risk. The launch of the first products from this collaboration is scheduled for the early second quarter of 2023.
Deutsche Börse’s Bet on Crypto
The leading German marketplace organizer for trading shares and other securities became the majority stakeholder of the Switzerland-based Crypto Finance AG in June 2021. Through the acquisition , Deutsche Börse aimed to provide a direct entry point for investments, including post-trade services like custody, expanding its overall presence in the crypto ecosystem.
Crypto Finance AG is headquartered in Zug, a Swiss canton with some of the world's most attractive regulations for conducting cryptocurrency business. The startup has been operating in the local market continuously for more than five years, where it obtained a FINMA license in 2018.
Additionally, in 2022, the stock exchange entered into another cooperation with Kaiko, a crypto market data provider, to meet the high demand for cryptocurrency market data from its clients. As part of the collaboration, Deutsche Börse has confirmed that its new data service comprises real-time and historical tick-level data for all digital assets and crypto exchanges covered by Kaiko.
Also last year, Deutsche Börse confirmed significant investor interest in cryptocurrency ETFs and ETPs with trading volumes increased to more than €1 billion, which is a ninefold increase over 2020.
