SBI Holdings has reportedly partnered with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) to launch a digital stock exchange slated for spring 2022.

SBI and SMFG are expected to launch the platform in Osaka to compete against the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), according to a Nikkei report Thursday.The exchange is expected to be Japan's first such stock exchange, allowing investors to trade digital securities using blockchain technology.In March, the companies will set up an operator called the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX), with SBI to own 60% and SMFG 40%, per the report.SBI and SMFG, which both have brokerage arms, will put in place a governance structure to prevent any conflict of interest.The news comes after the TSE was criticized for a major hardware glitch in September caused the worst outage ever for the world's third-largest equity market.The ODX is expected to start trading digital securities in 2023.

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