In a successful test at 21X, the German digital asset exchange ABN AMRO, the third-largest Dutch bank, achieved tokenized securities trading with Amsterdam as its base location in the Netherlands. The trial adopted stablecoins as the primary currency for blockchain-based settlement of tokenized assets, in what proved to be a major advancement for blockchain adoption by financial institutions.
The pilot program of listing tokenized assets on the 21X on-chain market was successfully finalized by the company on January 30th, 2025. ABN AMRO created a token based on ERC-3643 for the Polygon Amoy Testnet platform, but 21X connected this token to an E-Money Token based on ERC-20 standards. The pilot test lacked information about which asset served as its basis.
ABN AMRO Expands Digital Asset Operations with Blockchain
CEO Max Heinzle from 21X explained that blockchain technology provides both cost reduction and trading system performance improvement capabilities. Heinzle announced that institutional participants join our launch preparation activities right now.
ABN AMRO has continued adopting digital asset technology across its operation by issuing tokenized green bonds after previous implementation. Bank program manager Martijn Siebrand disclosed that ABN AMRO intends to develop secondary market functionality for its services by teaming up with the European Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) trading and settlement system.
The exchange platform from 21X is getting ready to launch its exchange after acquiring an EU-regulated trading license in December 2024, although specific dates are still confidential.
The pilot project emerges during a period where Germany and other European countries accelerate their work on asset tokenization strategies. The German central bank joined Project Guardian in November 2024 at the same time as Singapore launched its standardization initiative for digital assets and interoperability measures.
The successful completion of this pilot creates possibilities for additional developments in tokenized trading because ABN AMRO and other major financial institutions are investigating blockchain applications in finance.