Severin from 21X shares lessons learned from building Europe’s first regulated exchange under the DT pilot regime and outlines plans to expand to the US. He explains 21X’s market architecture for tokenized securities, including its regulated A-DX-style approach with a centralized on-chain order book, multi-chain readiness, and B2B2X go-to-market. The talk covers the shift from traditional intermediaries to an open ecosystem, on-chain settlement, and the role of banks, brokers, and wallet infrastructure in achieving institutional-grade, fast, and compliant trading. Severin also discusses regulatory alignment, US expansion, and the roadmap toward 24/7 multi-chain trading and deeper liquidity.
5 Key Takeaways:
- Regulated, tech-enabled exchange: European DT pilot regime as a catalyst for tokenized securities trading.
- On-chain, off-chain balance: central limit order book on-chain with off-chain identity and compliance layers.
- B2B2X scaling: connecting brokers, banks, and wallet providers to reach traders through intermediaries while maintaining an open ecosystem.
- Rapid settlement: moving from traditional T+2 to near-instant settlement in a compliant framework.
- Growth roadmap: expansion to the US, multi-chain deployment, and 24/7 trading with robust liquidity.
Timestamps:
0:00 Welcome and speaker introduction
0:41 Why 21X was founded: regulatory regime, tokenization thesis, and consolidation of intermediaries
1:58 The DTSS and European regulatory context
3:20 From centralized intermediaries to an open, multi-chain ecosystem
5:10 On-chain order book vs. traditional venues; CLON vs. AMM
7:40 How a single-trade example works (stable coin, tokenized securities, and settlement)
9:30 The role of banks, brokers, and wallet infrastructure in 21X
11:20 Regulatory licensing, ESMA, and supervision
12:40 Go-to-market strategy: web3 investors, treasuries, and banks
14:50 US expansion plans and upcoming assets
16:20 Lessons learned: adoption curves and market maker onboarding
18:40 Q&A highlights and closing remarks
This session is part of the Tokenization Season, Europe’s leading event series on institutional tokenization and DeFi integration for traditional finance.
Watch, read and participate in our events here:
https://www.w3.vision/
Get in touch:
Severin Kranz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/severin-kranz/
Hosts:
Vicktoria Klich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicktoriaklich/
Maximilian Vargas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilian-vargas/
