Apex Group has been appointed as the first official listing sponsor on 21X, the first licensed distributed ledger technology (DLT) trading and settlement system (TSS) in Europe, the companies announced.
The partnership will allow Apex to facilitate the listing of tokenized funds on 21X’s blockchain-based infrastructure, offering a regulated, on-chain market for digital securities. This move builds on a previously announced collaboration in September 2024, which positioned 21X as Apex’s exchange partner of choice for tokenized securities.
21X CEO Max Heinzle said the expanded partnership reflects a shared vision to modernize capital markets. “Apex’s experience and network will be instrumental in supporting issuers as we prepare for launch,” Heinzle said. “Together, we aim to provide a compliant, secure, and efficient pathway for tokenized funds.”
Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, called the partnership a “strategic step” toward opening up institutional-grade financial instruments to a broader investor base. “21X provides the regulated environment needed to bring tokenized products into the mainstream,” Hughes said.
The listing sponsor role positions Apex to guide issuers through the complexities of onboarding their tokenized instruments to the 21X platform while ensuring regulatory compliance and market integrity.
As the spring launch of 21X nears, the platform is expected to unveil a wave of institutional partnerships, including deals with trading firms, asset managers, custodians, and ERP providers. These collaborations aim to enhance liquidity, simplify tokenized asset issuance, and connect traditional and digital finance infrastructure.
Backed by major institutions, 21X is designed to support direct trading between banks, brokers, exchanges, corporates, and market makers using natively tokenized assets. Its ecosystem includes stablecoin providers, custodians, and treasurers, with a focus on real-time atomic settlement and cost efficiency.
Meanwhile, momentum continues to build in the tokenized fund space beyond Europe. In Asia, HashKey is partnering with Chinese asset manager Bosera to launch two tokenized money market ETFs in Hong Kong. These products are designed to offer investors low-risk, high-liquidity exposure through blockchain-based investment vehicles, reflecting a growing global trend toward tokenized financial instruments.
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