LSEG Technology, the technology solutions provider for the London Stock Exchange Group, has announced that its matching engine will be used to operate a new digital asset exchange in Hong Kong. This was announced in a press release by LSEG Technology on January 22nd.
The digital assets exchange, called AAX, due to open soon, is coming from the blockchain and crypto fintech company ATOM Group. The platform is to be the first digital asset exchange using the so-called “Millennium Exchange” of LSEG Technology. This is a scalable, low-latency matching engine already in use on traditional exchanges such as LSE, Borsa Italiana, Oslo Stock Exchange, and others.
The AAX, which is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of this year, will use the LSEG Matching Engine as the foundation for its trading platform. Peter Lin, the CEO of the ATOM Group, said the technology would help bring “more fairness, transparency and performance” to crypto dealers.
A disrupting platform that will change everything
The licensing agreement between a long-established provider of mainstream market solutions and an emerging, disruptive platform is likely to dispel concerns about security, market manipulation, and performance in the crypto industry.
In Hong Kong, there are currently indications that the local Securities and Markets Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), is considering a regulatory framework to regulate crypto exchanges. The SFC chairman said last October:
“We need to examine if and how these digital asset trading platforms can be regulated to meet a standard comparable to that of a licensed trading venue while ensuring that the interests of investors are protected.”
In November, the SFC published details of its draft Crypto-Exchange Rules and Guidelines for Cryptocurrency Funds. As the formal crypto-regulatory environment in Hong Kong continues to develop, some lawyers have warned that new regulations may prove cumbersome or even harmful to newcomers to the crypto industry.
Also published on Medium.