Over the past several years, Europe has taken a pragmatic, layered approach to enabling regulated digital asset markets. A number of frameworks and trials have now converged to form a clear and actionable foundation for institutional engagement.

The EU’s DLT Pilot Regime, the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), Switzerland’s DLT Act, and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation each contribute distinct but complementary approaches to Europe’s evolving digital asset landscape. Collectively, they address critical aspects of tokenized market infrastructure from how digital securities can be issued, traded, and settled on distributed ledgers, to how stablecoins and crypto-assets can be used in a regulated context. Though differing in jurisdiction, scope, and maturity, these frameworks share a unifying goal: enabling regulated institutions to build and operate blockchain-based financial infrastructure within defined legal boundaries.

As a result, Europe now has the core building blocks in place. Legal clarity, technical standards, operational models, and regulatory pathways are aligned in a way that supports the adoption of tokenized assets and trading platforms built on blockchains. Institutions are no longer operating in a vacuum or waiting for regulations to catch up. They are able to launch platforms, receive necessary licenses, and engage with blockchain infrastructure as a core part of their long-term strategy.

Regulated Trading Venues Are Reshaping Market Infrastructure

Among the first platforms positioned to operate under Europe’s evolving regulatory frameworks are BX Digital and 21X—two regulated venues applying public blockchain infrastructure to trading and settlement. BX Digital has received regulatory approval under Switzerland’s DLT Act, while 21X holds a license under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime. Though not yet live, both are preparing to launch with designs that reflect a new generation of compliant, onchain financial infrastructure.

BX Digital is the first platform to receive a license from FINMA under the Swiss DLT Act. The platform is designed to operate on a public blockchain, Ethereum, while integrating with existing market infrastructure, including institutional trading systems and fiat payment rails.

A key aspect of BX Digital’s regulatory approval involved clearly separating the infrastructure and asset layers—a distinction critical to enabling secure, compliant operations on a public blockchain. “The infrastructure layer—very much comparable with the internet—can be public and open, while the asset layer can have regulations such as KYC, permissioning, and allow-listing,” said BX Digital CEO Lidia Kurt. “We can use a public infrastructure like Ethereum—not control who participates at the network level, but control who owns the asset.”

She also highlighted key learnings from DeFi, stating, “We saw interesting concepts in DeFi and asked how we could bring them into a regulated environment. Our approach was to amend the technology only as much as necessary to meet compliance standards.”

BX Digital’s architecture is designed to seamlessly integrate with existing financial systems. Trading activities are conducted offchain, ensuring compatibility with current market infrastructures, while smart contracts execute settlement processes onchain. Notably, the platform leverages the SIC system by routing the payment leg of transactions with it. Once the payment is confirmed in SIC, the corresponding digital asset is transferred to the buyer’s wallet, completing the settlement process.

Its architecture is designed for the long term, and though it initially plans to launch only on Ethereum, Kurt notes their longer-term ambition is to support multiple chains. “We can do that ourselves by deploying our own infrastructure on new chains,” she said, “or we can do it by working together with Chainlink for cross-chain support.” 

Kurt also noted that, beyond transforming settlement, the infrastructure for distributing financial data may be due for similar change. “We believe that the data space might need a bit of disruption as well,” she said, citing inefficiencies in current data distribution models and the potential for blockchain to offer a more streamlined alternative. In line with this vision, BX Digital has partnered with Chainlink to bring critical pricing data for Swiss-based equities onchain.

While BX Digital demonstrates how public blockchain infrastructure can integrate closely with existing financial systems, 21X approaches regulated blockchain infrastructure from a different angle—building natively onchain from day one. As the first licensed MTF under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime, 21X merges trading, execution, and settlement into a unified smart contract architecture, offering a distinct model for regulated digital asset infrastructure in Europe.

“We wanted to show that what’s been discussed for years—onchain matching, atomic settlement, self-custody—can be done within a fully regulated framework,” said Max Heinzle, Founder and CEO of 21X.

21X has already demonstrated its viability in supporting established financial institutions such as Apex Group, SBI Digital Markets, ABN AMRO, and Cashlink, validating critical aspects of tokenization workflows, listing processes, and fund administration. Notably, 21X also participated in wholesale CBDC trials with the European Central Bank and Banque de France, reinforcing its alignment with Europe’s future-looking financial market infrastructure.

21X is the only regulated market infrastructure offering near-instantaneous matching and settlement of tokenized securities via regulated stablecoins. This unique capability allows 21X  to bypass traditional payment systems like SIC and Target 2, creating an open ecosystem with direct global access for a wide range of traders and investors while operating without a central securities depository (CSD).

With this future in mind, 21X, similarly to BX Digital, is pursuing a multi-chain approach. Initially launching on Polygon, 21X plans to expand its market infrastructure while leveraging interoperability solutions such as Chainlink’s CCIP to enable the listing of tokenized assets on multiple DLT networks. “For 21X, it’s all about connectivity, access, and interoperability,” said Heinzle. “We want to make sure liquidity isn’t dispersed and that tokens from different protocols are interoperable. For this purpose, we have partnered with Chainlink, a leading solution for interoperability and onchain data provision.”

Heinzle also highlighted the importance of accurate onchain data to support investors of tokenized financial instruments, particularly for money market funds and collateral use cases. “We see great value in Chainlink’s work on real-time fund NAV, making valuation data consumable onchain for trading participants on 21X,” he explained. “Accurate valuation of tokenized assets is critical for collateralization and lending use cases—being pursued by our professional and institutional customers.”

Conclusion

The convergence of regulatory clarity and technical maturity in Europe is ushering in a new phase for digital asset markets—one where fully licensed, compliant venues are live and operational. Policies like the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime and Switzerland’s DLT Act were designed to enable exactly this kind of innovation: trading venues that can securely issue, settle, and record tokenized assets onchain, without ambiguity about their legal status.

BX Digital and 21X are among the first to show what this looks like in practice. While BX Digital focuses on bridging blockchain technology with existing financial systems, 21X demonstrates the potential of building fully native onchain infrastructure. Each operates within a different jurisdiction and framework, but both reflect a shared reality: public blockchain infrastructure, when paired with smart regulatory design and compliance-focused architecture, can serve as the foundation for modern capital markets.