Stuttgart Stock Exchange Gets Green Light to Trade and Settle Tokenized Securities

From the Swabian floor to the blockchain. The Stuttgart Stock Exchange has obtained a DLT-TSS license from BaFin, allowing it to trade and settle tokenized securities on a distributed ledger. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung specifies that the German financial regulator has processed the application with ESMA and the ECB. Thus, the second stock exchange in the country joins the handful of infrastructures approved under the European pilot regime.

The approval allows Stuttgart to house both the order book and the settlement-delivery in a single infrastructure, two functions that European law has separated for decades.

Key Points

• BaFin grants the Swabian stock exchange the broadest approval under the European pilot regime, which combines order book and settlement-delivery in a single infrastructure.
• The European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Central Bank were involved in the process, as required by Regulation (EU) 2022/858.
• European limits cap each platform at €6 billion of admitted instruments, which explains the low number of candidates since 2023.
• The ECB is preparing Pontes, a central bank digital currency settlement pilot expected in the third quarter of 2026.

Stuttgart Stock Exchange Secures DLT-TSS License Processed with ESMA and ECB

Under European law, a regulated market cannot hold and settle the securities it facilitates trading in, a task reserved for central depositories like Clearstream or Euroclear. Regulation (EU) 2022/858, in effect since March 2023, opens three exceptions to this principle.

The first two cover trading (DLT MTF) and settlement (DLT SS) separately. The third category, DLT TSS (which deviates from both the MiFID II directive and the CSDR regulation on central depositories), allows a single entity to operate the market and settle transactions. Stuttgart aimed for the broadest of the three.

The delivery of securities and payment then occur in the same transaction, in a matter of seconds, while European markets still operate on T+2. The shift to T+1 is scheduled for October 11, 2027, in the Union, the UK, and Switzerland. Securities and fund shares issued electronically enter this circuit directly.

BaFin did not act alone. The regulation requires the national supervisor to seek the opinion of ESMA (the European Securities and Markets Authority) on each exemption requested, an opinion that is non-binding but serves to align practices among member states. Once settlement-delivery comes into play, the issuing central bank joins the procedure, which is the ECB for instruments denominated in euros.

![The Stuttgart Stock Exchange has obtained a DLT-TSS license from BaFin, allowing it to trade and settle tokenized securities on a distributed ledger. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung specifies that the German financial regulator has processed the application with ESMA and the ECB. Thus, the second stock exchange in the country joins the handful of infrastructures approved under the European pilot regime.

The approval allows Stuttgart to house both the order book and the settlement-delivery in a single infrastructure, two functions that European law has separated for decades.](https://public.chaincatcher.com/upload/news/202610/462f91671a8e4ea690b86ae940e24f0f.png) ![The Stuttgart Stock Exchange has obtained a DLT-TSS license from BaFin, allowing it to trade and settle tokenized securities on a distributed ledger. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung specifies that the German financial regulator has processed the application with ESMA and the ECB. Thus, the second stock exchange in the country joins the handful of infrastructures approved under the European pilot regime.

The approval allows Stuttgart to house both the order book and the settlement-delivery in a single infrastructure, two functions that European law has separated for decades.](https://journalducoin-com.exactdn.com/app/uploads/2026/10/Bourse-Stuttgart-titres-tokenises-crypto-blockchain.png?strip=all&quality=90&webp=90)

A European Pilot Regime Still Limited by Its Caps

However, the license comes with numerical safeguards. A share can only be admitted if its issuer has a market capitalization of less than €500 million, an obligation if its issuance remains below €1 billion, and a fund share if the manager weighs less than €500 million.

The total portfolio of a platform is capped at €6 billion, and the operator must initiate a transition strategy once €9 billion is reached. Three years after the regulation came into effect, the register maintained by ESMA lists only a handful of approved infrastructures, with none from France. BaFin had granted the first DLT-TSS green light in the Union to the German fintech 21X in December 2024.

The platform went live the following year. The system was designed for three years, extendable for another three after a report from ESMA to the European Commission, and its first deadline fell in March.

Stuttgart does not arrive on this terrain empty-handed. Börse Stuttgart Digital secured one of the first MiCA approvals granted by BaFin in early 2025 and already provides the crypto infrastructure for DZ Bank, the second-largest German bank by balance sheet size.

Germany now has two authorized infrastructures to operate trading and settlement in the same system, while most member states have none. This lead owes much to a 2021 law, the eWpG, which allows bonds and fund shares to be registered directly on a blockchain, without a paper certificate deposited in a vault.

This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.