The second largest stock exchange in Germany – Börse Stuttgart – has partnered with Berlin based solarisBank to develop a trading system for its new cryptocurrency trading venue.
In a joint announcement yesterday, both companies outlined the nature of their partnership with the goal of having a cryptocurrency trading platform in place in the first half of 2019. In addition to assisting Börse Stuttgart In developing the trading system, solarisBank will also act as bankers to the group in terms of crypto trading banking services.
“With its combination of technology and banking expertise, solarisBank is a great partner for us to offer central services along the value chain for digital assets. solarisBank’s Blockchain Factory supports us in taking trading in cryptocurrencies and tokens to the next level and in setting new standards in transparency and reliability”, stated Alexander Höptner, CEO of Börse Stuttgart GmbH.
The trading venue will establish the service initially by making the most well known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum available. After that initial startup phase, Börse Stuttgart plan on extending the service to cover the trading of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The trading platform will be geared towards both private and institutional investors. Order opportunities comparable to securities will be facilitated.
Fixed rules will be put in place to provide for the execution of investors’ orders. Börse Stuttgart is seeking to have the crypto trading platform regulated as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF).
Earlier this year, Börse Stuttgart declared its intention to pursue the cryptocurrency market with a view towards making crypto accessible to the mass market. In December 2017, it bought startup Sowa Labs. Through its new subsidiary, it is offering the Bison App which is a crypto-trading application. The application allows clients to trade cryptocurrency without the need for a cryptocurrency wallet.
Built in to the app is a Cryptoradar feature which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze Twitter and provide users with an insight into market sentiment and opinion amongst the crypto-community. The application will launch in Germany initially with plans to roll out to other European countries at a later stage.
Börse Stuttgart is the second largest stock exchange in Germany and the tenth largest in Europe. In 2017, it recorded a total trading volume of €81 billion across all asset classes. The exchange facilitates trade in equities, securitized derivatives, debt instruments (bonds), exchange traded funds (ETFs), investment fund units and participation certificates. It is the primary market in Germany for the trading of corporate bonds whilst being the leader in Europe when it comes to the securitized derivatives market segment.
Roland Folz, CEO of solarisBank commented on the partnership:
“Börse Stuttgart Group and solarisBank share the ambition to shape the future of the financial industry. A reliable and performant trading venue is a fundamental contribution to our shared vision of a hybrid financial world with both fiat and cryptocurrencies. We are very pleased that Börse Stuttgart Group chose our Blockchain Factory around Peter Grosskopf and Michael Offermann as its trusted partner.”
solarisBank is not a conventional bank – it describes itself as a tech company with a banking license. It offers a Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform which enables companies to offer their own financial products. The bank is catering specifically to blockchain based clients and service offerings. It has established a Blockchain Factory which consists of modular services that bridge the gap between traditional banking and the blockchain and cryptocurrency world.
In October, it became known that solarisBank had collaborated with Bitwala in facilitating them in offering the first bank account which allows clients to hold both FIAT and crypto funds. Whilst that product was launched in October, onboarding of customers began yesterday. Bitwala are offering traditional and crypto banking services from the one source, together with a crypto debit card. Jörg von Minckwitz, co-founder of Bitwala believes the company have led the way in offering a new hybrid future of banking. Whilst solarisBank took to Twitter to announce the new collaboration with Börse Stuttgart, von Minckwitz commented:
“The best thing about this announcement is that you don’t have to wait. Sign up on @Bitwala today if you don’t want to wait until next year.”
There’s no doubt that the ecosystem for cryptocurrency is starting to get innovative and with that, it is gaining momentum. These are all positive developments for the industry which should make it easier for ordinary people to access cryptocurrencies in the long run.
