SBI Holdings and SMFG to launch digital securities exchange in 2022

Japanese finance giaSBI Holdings is building a digital stock exchange in collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, or SMFG.

According to a Jan. 28 Nikkei report, the new digital securities exchange is expected to be the first Japanese exchange trading digital stocks using blockchain technology.

The companies are reportedly planning to roll out the exchange in Osaka in the spring of 2020, while the platform is expected to start handling digital securities in 2023. In order to launch the exchange, SBI and SMFG will set up an operator, the Osaka Digital Exchange, or ODX. SBI will have a 60% stake in ODX, while SMFG will own 40%, the report states.

The new exchange will use a proprietary trading system, an electronic trading venue run by a securities company to enable trading outside of a traditional public exchange.

The new digital stock exchange will compete with the Tokyo Stock Exchange — reportedly the third-largest stock exchange in the world. The new initiative specifically aims to provide an alternative to the TSE after the exchange suffered a massive outage caused by a system glitch in September 2020.

SBI and SMFG are not the only companies that are workin on a digital securities exchange in Japan. In April 2020, Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings announced plans to develop a digital stock exchange in partnership with blockchain startup Hash Dash.

SBI and SMFG previously partnered to offer digital banking services via smartphone.

SBI is known for its positive stance on crypto and blockchain, as well as Ripple, a fintech firm that is now facing a federal lawsuit in the United States for alleged violations of securities laws.