Highlights Archives

Fund Tokenization in Focus

The potential for tokenization is massive – and that applies to the fund industry as well. When smart contracts can help streamline investor onboarding, subscriptions and more, the sky is the limit. Who has been building for this future? Apex Group, one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated firms in the space.

On RULEMATCH Spot On, host Ian Simpson sat down with Daniel Coheur, Global Head of Digital Assets at Apex Group (and formely co-founder of Tokeny) to dive into how the company is preparing for an on-chain future.

Show notes:

00:40 – Intro

1:38 – Introduction to Apex Group

2:57 – Two sides of the coin with funds

4:03 – The main driver towards the tokenization of funds

5:37 – The specific benefits of tokenization for funds

7:38 – How a blockchain changes things for funds

10:10 – Possibilities for new instruments

11:01 – Copying the innovation of Franklin Templeton

12:41 – The different layers of tokenized funds

16:13 – The bigger picture with tokenization of funds

17:26 – Introducing asset ID and dealing with the taxonomy

19:07 – The risk of tokenized funds with SPVs

19:55 – A complete view of what tokenization is

23:06 – What the dynamic of ETFs and mutual funds means for tokenized funds

24:04 – Why secondary markets are key

27:41 – What segments are most important

29:51 – Large asset managers in the space

32:48 – Public vs private instruments

33:52 – Global considerations for tokenization at Apex

35:57 – Europe and the pilot DLT regime

36:29 – Finality and a CSD

38:09 – Use cases based on geography

39:41 – The “middle market” that wants tokenization

40:56 – The Swiss DLT law and CSDs

43:29 – Being prepared for the future

44:56 – The need for netting

46:17 – Wallet infrastructure for greater distribution

47:15 – The future of the DLT pilot regime in Europe

49:07 – The backstory of ERC-3643

56:10 – On-chain ID and ERC-3643

58:01 – Working with companies like Microsoft for ID solutions

1:02:00 – Looking to the future

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast about RULEMATCH AG (“RULEMATCH”) and any guest company is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive. They do not imply any elements of a contractual relationship nor any offering.

When Crypto Markets Go Direct

Crypto markets are in constant flux. Not only do prices change, but liquidity ebbs and flows and market participants change their approach.

How are financial institutions using their balance sheet to trade today? Is there a future for OTC and CLOB trading side-by-side? How might banks position themselves for a tokenized world?

Host Ian Simpson sat down with B2C2 Group CEO Thomas Restout for an in-depth conversation with perspectives from one of the market’s largest and most experienced market makers and OTC trading firms.

Episode show notes:

1:18 – Intro

2:15 – Has volatility disappeared?

5:06 – How are institutions “playing” the market?

7:23 – Adoption and shifting attitudes in the market

9:30 – How to think about OTC trading in the market today

11:07 – The real reason that some firms prefer to trade OTC

13:12 – How OTC trading has changed in crypto markets

14:22 – Price discovery and spreads in OTC trading

16:50 – How trading firms can be prepared for events like 10/10

19:07 – Volatility and an example trading scenario

20:42 – The ongoing evaluation of risks in bilateral market relationships

23:08 – Drilling down on settlement risk 26:08 – DvP as a mitigant to settlement risk

27:45 – Innovations to change up the landscape

29:11 – Triparty settlement solutions as a “middle way”

30:39 – Prime brokerage as an “accelerator”

34:02 – Advising Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan on crypto trading

39:46 – Getting ready for what comes after crypto with tokens

40:17 – Do banks want to own the “rails” for payments and settlement?

43:03 – B2C2 and tokenized bank deposits (JPM Coin)

44:31 – JP Morgan as an ideal partner

46:18 – B2C2’s perspective on the future of tokenized assets

48:56 – Struggling to find the “real use case” of BENJI etc

49:46 – Creating bigger impact with tokenized money market funds

51:13 – Is B2C2 looking at M&A?

54:02 – Retail and the adoption of on-chain assets

55:15 – The future belongs to…?

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RULEMATCH extends proven settlement service to off-exchange crypto trading

Zurich, Switzerland; 27 January 2026 – RULEMATCH today announces the launch of its triparty settlement service designed to empower financial institutions to trade bilaterally with confidence and settle on-demand using the proven institutional-grade clearing infrastructure of RULEMATCH. Against the backdrop of a widely fragmented crypto market, the RULEMATCH triparty settlement service adds a new layer of trust by removing principal settlement risk for bilateral trading parties, while providing enhanced capital efficiency.

RULEMATCH CCO Stefan Lütolf commented, “The post-trade clearing and settlement system of RULEMATCH is a cornerstone of what has made the RULEMATCH interbank venue attractive to banks and securities firms. Now we are making these clearing capabilities available to participants who trade off-exchange so they can trade more flexibly and efficiently – without principal settlement risk.”

A proven clearing and settlement system for crypto markets

Triparty settlement from RULEMATCH leverages the proven clearing and settlement infrastructure already in use on the RULEMATCH interbank trading venue. Since the launch of multi-lateral trading and settlement in December 2023, the RULEMATCH clearing and settlement system has completed over 500 cycles without fail.

In the triparty settlement process, trade reports from participating counterparties are delivered to the RULEMATCH matching engine, running the multi-matching engine trade software of Nasdaq, and are automatically netted. At the conclusion of the clearing cycle – configured by the participants – the trading parties deliver their respective obligations as calculated by RULEMATCH. The system supports ad hoc renegotiation of cycle specifications (cut-off times and deadlines).

Both crypto assets and fiat currencies reserved for settlement are held off-balance sheet at all times, the former in fully segregated wallets, the latter in fiduciary accounts at AA+-rated, state-guaranteed Luzerner Kantonalbank. The delivery-versus-payment (DvP) process is initiated only when obligations from both parties are delivered. Settlement transfers are initiated simultaneously, and the process is deemed final once all transfers are completed, at which point entitlements are made available to the parties.

Making bilateral trading frictionless

The new settlement service from RULEMATCH helps remove a significant layer of friction in bilateral crypto trading. With no principal settlement (Herstatt) risk, financial institutions can now expand risk limits in their trading operations and can trade and settle at any time with confidence – with a wider range of counterparties.

Meanwhile, they retain the capital efficiency advantage of netting, which also removes the need for multiple blockchain transactions for settlement purposes.

The RULEMATCH triparty settlement service can be particularly helpful for OTC trading firms, brokers, and active trading firms. Previously, bilateral trading parties often operated under a free-of-payment settlement process – forcing one party to settle first. Now, however, instead of facing principal settlement risk through delayed or confusing asset transfers – they can rely on proven post-trade infrastructure that streamlines operations and provides greater security.

Users of the RULEMATCH triparty settlement service must be onboarded as participants of RULEMATCH AG in Switzerland and are subject to the RULEMATCH rulebook.

About RULEMATCH

RULEMATCH is the premiere digital asset trading venue for financial institutions. It acts as a market operator for spot trading of the most liquid cryptocurrencies vs fiat. RULEMATCH is never a counterparty in trading. Fiat funds are held in fiduciary accounts with a state-guaranteed, AA+-rated Swiss bank and cryptocurrencies are handled on fully segregated wallets. With integrated multilateral clearing and post-trade settlement, as well as institutional-grade trading technology, RULEMATCH helps provide ultra-low latency, capital efficient trading and robust market integrity. Its offices and operations are located in Zürich. Its participant network is open to banks and securities firms only and limited to select countries. RULEMATCH is not available to US-based financial institutions.

For more information, visit: rulematch.com

The Road Towards Tokenization

The largest financial institutions in the world are moving towards tokenized markets. Banks, custodians and asset managers all have plans to revolutionize financial markets. Some are faster than others…

But how will it actually work? Are there some parts of the technology stack that are unsolved yet? How do we get beyond “tokenized wrappers” to true tokenized securities?

Host Ian Simpson sat down with Broadridge Financial’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer German Soto Sanchez to explore the results of Broadridge’s recent institutional survey and discuss all this – plus the company’s Tokenized Repo platform – and more.

Episode show notes:

3:08 – Who is Broadridge Financial?

5:21 – How does Broadridge power TradFi?

6:09 – Can TradFi systems be ready for tokenization?

8:35 – Pulling the worlds of TradFi and digital assets together

10:42 – The Broadridge institutional digital assets survey

17:02 – How big players like asset managers can expand their involvement in tokenized markets

21:28 – Linking digital asset market participants together

22:28 – How are wealth managers, asset managers, custodians preparing for what comes next?

25:51 – When big players like J.P. Morgan move into digital assets

26:47 – How intraday liquidity could change markets

29:04 – Unlocking new functionality with blockchain and tokens

32:49 – Democratization and increased financialization of markets

35:27 – Changing Broadridge systems to handle tokenization

37:07 – The three kinds of tokenization and the problem with tokenized stocks

40:23 – $300 billion on the tokenized repo platform of Broadridge

45:21 – Looking to the future

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Haruko Integrates with RULEMATCH

Zurich, Switzerland; 18 November 2025 – RULEMATCH, the interbank spot crypto trading venue designed exclusively for financial institutions, today announces that Haruko, a leading global provider of institutional digital assets technology has integrated with RULEMATCH. This means that their mutual clients can access the guaranteed liquidity available on RULEMATCH while leveraging the advanced trade capture, portfolio and risk management services as well as data insights of Haruko.

As banks and securities firms continue to build out crypto services for their institutional clients, they are increasingly turning to more sophisticated service providers to meet the necessary standards for regulated financial institutions. The partnership between RULEMATCH, with its institutional-only client base and market structure modelled on traditional finance (multi-lateral, T+1 settlement with DvP) and Haruko with its institutional end-to-end digital asset workflow, including comprehensive liquidity analysis, stress testing and exposure tracking, will help equip financial institutions for the next evolution of the market.

RULEMATCH CCO Stefan Lütolf commented, “We are very glad that Haruko has chosen to integrate with RULEMATCH and give their institutional clients access to a truly high-performant trading venue that matches the advanced technical capabilities of the Haruko platform.”

As a pure market operator, RULEMATCH acts to bring together the buying and selling interests of its participants. Its spot market currently offers a central limit order book (CLOB) with guaranteed liquidity from designated market makers for the most liquid cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, with bilateral trading for additional pairs in a separate RFQ segment.

“This partnership marks another step toward a more connected and resilient digital asset market structure. As the industry moves toward 24/7, institutional-grade trading, we see integrations like this as key to shaping the future of finance,” said Michael Lie, Global Head of Digital Assets at Flow Traders. Flow Traders is a designated market maker on the RULEMATCH trading venue.

RULEMATCH also leverages Nasdaq’s pre-trade risk, matching engine and surveillance technology to help ensure the highest standards of market integrity for its participants.

“We’re excited to partner with RULEMATCH, strengthening our commitment to delivering institutional-grade solutions that meet the evolving needs of financial institutions deploying capital in the digital asset space,” said Shamyl Malik, CEO and Co-Founder of Haruko. “Together, we’re enabling clients to manage risk with clarity, precision, and confidence.”

RULEMATCH is open to participants who are regulated financial institutions from Switzerland and equivalently regulated countries. This allows them to trade with counterparties that operate within aligned regulatory frameworks. All participants are subject to verification, ongoing trading oversight, and transfer screening, ensuring the highest standards of compliance and market integrity.

Haruko’s unified platform is available to institutional clients, allowing them to benefit from aggregated insights, actionable analytics and scalable solutions to monitor, measure and manage digital asset risk. With focus on transparency and reliability, Haruko gives institutions the confidence to make informed decisions in increasingly complex markets.

About RULEMATCH

For more information, visit: rulematch.com

About Haruko

Haruko provides the most comprehensive digital asset technology solution for institutions deploying capital across the digital asset ecosystem. Seamless consolidation of positions across exchanges, on-chain and OTC activity with access to real-time and historical pricing, risk and P&L reporting provides the transparency needed for effective treasury management, compliance, investor reporting and financial controllership functions.

Haruko has an experienced team of TradFi and digital industry veterans located across Europe and Asia supporting more than 90 institutional clients globally using the award-winning Haruko platform to optimize their front-, middle- and back-office workflows and operational controls.

For more information on Haruko, visit: haruko.com

Pioneering Tokenized Funds

With nearly half a billion in assets, Franklin Templeton’s pioneering tokenized money market fund – popularly known as BENJI – is clearly a success. But…how did it come about?

What does the $1.6 trillion asset manager think tokenized assets will do for capital markets? And what still needs to happen for blockchain rails to go “big time” in the global world of finance?

Franklin Templeton’s Head of Digital Assets Roger Bayston sat down with Ian Simpson to discuss all this and more on RULEMATCH Spot On.

Episode show notes:

1:46 – Intro

2:46 – The motivation behind FOBXX / BENJI

5:33 – Why a tokenized money market fund?

6:45 – Who is buying BENJI?

8:00 – Interest from crypto-native hedge funds

9:40 – Why tokenize when the market isn’t ready?

11:23 – Upgrading the velocity of money moving in funds

13:30 – Why the BENJI app?

15:17 – How does BENJI trading work?

18:00 – The “white-label” ecosystem of Franklin Templeton

20:50 – Who should get into tokenization as well?

21:54 – An “ideal” relationship between Franklin Templeton and Morgan Stanley

23:33 – The massive adoption of Web 3.0 wallets

24:38 – The innovation of intraday yield

25:30 – Adoption among market makers

26:49 – The real advantages of going fully “on-chain”

28:46 – The hot topic of stablecoins

29:56 – The “cold hard geopolitical fact” of US-backed stablecoins

31:22 – The holy grail of yield with stablecoins

32:19 – J.P. Morgan and Web 3.0 wallet-based organizations

34:48 – Franklin Templeton’s conviction about Web 3.0

35:02 – Coming to terms with the “financialization” of crypto

37:33 – The amazing thing about financial advisors in the US

38:07 – Financial institutions’ attitude towards tech

40:12 – What comes next for tokenization?

41:14 – CALPERS and tokenized investments

44:29 – Shifting what “is possible” for investments

45:29 – The considerations for choosing a blockchain to use

48:08 – Working with “digital nation states”

49:55 – What could come next?

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Roger Bayston LinkedIn

Setting Up for Crypto

Zürcher Kantonalbank is Switzerland’s 2nd (or 3rd…) largest bank by balance sheet. One year ago it launched a crypto service offering with much fanfare.

Now in an exclusive session, RULEMATCH Spot On host Ian Simpson sat down with two of the main persons responsible for the launch of ZKB’s crypto services – Head Digital Assets Solutions Pedro Hubli and Product Manager Digital Assets Michael Rausch.

They dove into the backstory of the bank’s move into crypto, how being a state-owned, AAA-rated bank influenced what (and how) ZKB implemented its offering.

Plus – Pedro and Michael discussed how crypto fits into the bank’s overall view on digital assets – and what “could” be a motivating factor for the bank to get involved in stablecoins.

Episode show notes:

2:13 – How big (and important) is Zurcher Kantonalbank?

3:31 – What does it mean to be a state-owned bank?

4:29 – The background of ZKB’s crypto offering

6:28 – Evaluating AML, risk, trading/custody setup

9:09 – Consulting the competition about custody and more

10:29 – How tokenization started the ball rolling

12:17 – Is it now “bitcoin AND blockchain” ?

13:22 – The lifecycle of crypto at ZKB: buying BTC with a broker

16:04 – The lifecycle of crypto at ZKB: booking and custody

18:44 – FOMO in the market because of ZKB’s crypto offering

20:49 – Best pricing for clients

22:50 – “Just another asset class” ?

23:46 – (Negative) surprise along the way

25:24 – The average ZKB crypto investor

26:54 – ZKB’s visibility in the market with crypto

30:14 – Crypto, digital assets and the changing face of finance

32:03 – PoCs are dead, real value reigns

32:53 – The missing cash leg (stablecoins)

35:33 – The missing cooperation in Switzerland

37:19 – Different kinds of stablecoins

38:34 – Where does tokenization take off?

43:00 – ZKB and non-bankable assets

44:37 – ZKB’s potential role in an on-chain finance world

45:40 – What is still missing for tokenization?

46:30 – The need for secondary markets

50:02 – Building on Ethereum and following the trend

51:30 – Final advice for other banks moving into crypto

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Pedro Hubli LinkedIn

Michael Rausch LinkedIn

Views on Digital Asset Markets

The largest financial institutions in the world are taking technology seriously – both as an opportunity and a risk. The same goes for the nascent crypto and digital asset industry.

In conversation with Ian Simpson, J.P.Morgan Managing Director and Head Markets Digital Assets Scott Lucas discussed the tectonic plates moving in capital markets, the potential for DLT and blockchain to bring value to established market participants – and how large financial institutions are thinking about the future of markets.

He also discussed the value (real and perceived) of tokenization, the potential for stablecoins, including why “competition is good” – and how settlement could and should look in digital asset markets.

Episode show notes:

(00:58) – Intro

(3:40) – What makes “good markets” ?

(6:06) The “optimal mix” or “minimal threshold” for new markets

(7:31) How J.P. Morgan looks at markets – new and old

(8:48) – The minimum barrier in crypto markets

(11:34) – The art of the possible and the useful

(12:34) Evaluating risk factors in new markets like crypto

(14:44) New technology alongside existing frameworks

(15:31) J.P. Morgan’s inter-day repo as an example

(17:01) The high-level benefits of DLT and blockchain tech

(18:18) A wider-flatter market vs narrow and centralized

(19:15) If a regulator said “yes” today…

(20:07) When innovation comes to the table

(21:08) “Entitled” transparency

(22:07) Top-down vs bottom-up “shift”

(24:56) US vs Switzerland in the regulatory race

(26:24) Placing the “barrier” in the right spot

(28:18) The opportunity for Switzerland

(29:43) Capital requirements as a “gating factor”

(32:24) Financial market infrastructure for a bank like J.P. Morgan

(33:29) The downside of disintermediation

(34:12) Copying current capital market processes

(37:06) Some things are here for a reason…

(38:37) The ideal settlement model for big banks in digital assets

(40:41) The meaning of stablecoins for big banks

(43:53) Stablecoins in the wider capital markets

(45:05) Stablecoins as a settlement mechanism

(46:28) J.P.Morgan and tokenization

(49:13) Mobilizing (tokenized) collateral to support margin

(53:25) Different markets or one market?

(55:22) Partnerships moving the market forward

(57:11) What would really draw J.P. Morgan into crypto and digital assets?

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Crypto Market Structures (Part 2)

As the crypto and digital assets industry continues to “grow up” – a lot of hard work is being done. Some of it is known – some of it “under the radar”. And some of the most foundational work in digitizing capital markets is being supported by some of the largest TradFi trading houses in the world.

In Part 2 of the episode, Chris Zuehlkle, Global Head of Cumberland, the crypto arm of DRW and RULEMATCH Spot On host Ian Simpson discussed some of the latest developments present – and future – in the crypto and digital assets space.

Will OTC and lit markets continue to co-exist side by side?

What will the US GENIUS and Clarity Acts mean for stablecoins and digital assets?

How will tokenization among financial institutions develop?

What early theses in crypto have not come true?

Episode show notes:

(2:16) OTC and CLOB in Cumberland’s view of market structure

(5:03) The effects of regulation on the number of market participants

(7:27) A story about Chris as a “market structure geek”

(11:00) DeFi as the sandbox and how TradFi is “cherry-picking”

(12:55) The “state of play” in tokenization

(14:24) Two important steps for the industry

(15:18) Reducing uncertainty with collateral tokenization

(17:34) Tokenization in repo markets & a $100 million example

(19:39) Who will push tokenization forward?

(20:03) Privacy as a “headwind” and cooperation with Canton Network

(21:27) Why Chris treats US crypto regulation as his “kids”

(23:19) The crucial role of the Clarity Act

(25:26) The chances of the SEC and CFTC working together

(27:42) Interacting with regulators and giving feedback

(28:53) A thought experiment with Reg-NMS and tokenized equities

(31:14) A comparison of US and European crypto regulation

(32:49) How Cumberland tries to stay “efficient” with regulation

(34:33) The amazing things about stablecoins and being integrated into Cumberland

(37:03) How the stablecoin bill (GENIUS Act) unlocks new utility

(37:21) The debate about fully-backed or tokenized fractional deposits

(39:08) Crypto M&A picks up 41:59 A look back into the crystal ball

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Crypto Market Structures (Part 1)

Capital markets are in a state of flux – because of geopolitics, macro trends – as well as technology, like crypto and blockchain.

But some things remain the same – a need for effective use of capital, transparency and reducing uncertainty.

Chris Zuehlkle, Global Head of Cumberland, the crypto arm of DRW, knows all about it. From the early days of DRW’s foray into crypto, Chris has been involved in building Cumberland’s digital asset business and exploring all the challenges and opportunities.

In Part 1 of the episode, Chris and Ian Simpson explore: