- As a company, 21X is functionally equivalent to a crypto exchange – i.e. an infrastructure operator without its own trading function – but is legally classified as a trader that uses distributed ledger technology.
- The hybrid therefore required a new EU category. The Brussels languagesebelwerfer did a great job and the result was: “DLT trading and settlement system”, a term that doesn’t give the slightest hint of what it means.
Die Swiss crypto bank AMINA is now the first bank to be active on the DLT trading and settlement system 21X. It is a special first in the modernization of the EU capital market. For the first time, there is a complete infrastructure of custody, tokenization and regulated primary and secondary markets under the umbrella of a single company.
21X operates under the so-called EU pilot regime and combines exchange functionality, trading and settlement in a single process based entirely on smart contracts.
AMINA Bank in the new market model
AMINA takes over the function of listing assets on X21, thereby enabling issuers to access a regulated onchain market. The crypto bank also takes care of the custody of the underlying assets and supports issuers during onboarding.
This eliminates a key bottleneck of recent years: Institutional issuers have long needed a bank that can both store traditional assets and support their digital representation in a regulated environment. With the AMINA bank, both are now directly available.
Crypto technology and regulation
Tokenization is carried out via Tokeny based on the ERC 3643 standard. The standard enables automated compliance mechanisms, rights management and a clear separation between assets and regulatory requirements.
Based on this, 21X is the regulated trading and settlement venue that is approved by BaFin and monitored by ESMA. The EU pilot regime allows traditional market infrastructure to be replaced or supplemented by distributed ledger technology.
Market participants see the cooperating trio of AMINA, Tokeny and 21X as practical proof that regulated onchain capital markets can be implemented from a technical and regulatory perspective.
Consequences for issuers and institutions
Institutional investors have been calling for regulated secondary markets for tokenized bonds, fund shares and other financial instruments for years. Previous projects failed due to a lack of market infrastructure or a lack of connection between custody, issuance and secondary market.
By including an appropriately regulated bank, the barrier to entry for issuers drops significantly. The unified structure allows assets to be stored in a regulated manner, represented digitally and then traded on a regulated market.
This creates the conditions for higher liquidity and broader institutional crypto demand.
EU position and international perspective
With this model, the EU is positioning itself as a pioneer in the implementation of digital market infrastructures.
While other regions are still proceeding in a fragmented manner, the interaction between AMINA and 21X shows that a regulated onchain capital market is already operationally usable in the EU.
The coming years will show whether the pilot regime will work in the long term and whether the new complete infrastructure, with its hybrid character, will attract enough sales to establish itself as the new standard in the long term.
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