GSX Limited is owned by the GSX Group, which operates the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, one of the world’s newest regulated stock exchanges. It has established a reputation as a robust yet fast to market regulated platform for a variety of capital market products and is expanding to leverage Gibraltar’s proposed Distributed Ledger Technology regulatory framework. We asked the CEO Nick Cowan to tell us more about the company’s journey and plans for the future.
How was the journey for GSX Group to this award? What does it mean for your company?
We set out on our journey back in 2018, declaring our vision to move into digital securities as the end-goal. We have evolved and grown as a company in that time, honing our solution for the transformation of the capital markets utilising our bespoke STACS blockchain; this award means a lot to GSX, as it demonstrates we’re moving in the right direction. To have a panel of experts determine our model is worthy of an ‘ecosystem of excellence’ award within tokenized securities is proof to us we’re in a strong position, to offer tangible digital solutions to issuers and investors alike.
What role do you think GSX Group plays in the industry?
GSX Group aims to build a network of digital securities exchanges, all powered by our bespoke blockchain solution protocol; STACS. As well as operating the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, we are set to launch our first digital securities trading exchange, GSX Labuan in Malaysia, in early 2021. Our senior team of financial professionals, with extensive experience in the traditional securities markets have spearheaded this initiative, working alongside technologists to bring innovative solutions that will cut costs, boost efficiencies, eliminate counterparty-risk and break down barriers to entry for issuers to gain access to capital.
What are your expectations and predictions for the token economy in the future?
Working with our key-partners in various initiatives globally, we’re set to hit the ground running for 2021. Our focus at the moment is launching the exchange in Labuan as a priority for that key first-mover advantage within the market. Despite the economic outlook from the backlash of Covid-19 in 2020, we can see many great opportunities for the token economy, as institutions and issuers seek to lower their costs across the board, something we can certainly provide. We also see ESG initiatives taking more of a foothold in future decision maker factors for investors, which is why part of our vision for GSX Labuan is to develop an ESG rating model for issuers, a later development within our phased approach.
Do you have any advice for newcomers in the industry?
It is important to understand the field, market or industry you’re attempting to change, there can be many intricacies and complex challenges to overcome before your solution can become adopted. We have spent considerable time and money in developing a solution that we feel covers all aspects of the securities journey in the issuance, trading, clearing and settlement lifecycle.
My advice to newcomers is to stay lean, stay focused, multi-task and seek advice at any opportunity from your peers, and be open to criticism – most importantly learn from that criticism, and use it to improve your vision. If possible, get your team members to focus on their strengths – getting people to do something they either hate or are weak at (and/or) is inefficient – you need to move quickly so find each member’s superman skill and leverage it. Seeking investors is also a tough drawn-out process and we’ve seen it is even more difficult to achieve in these unprecedented times. Ensure you make your pitch the best it can be, including the 30 second ‘elevator pitch’ because you never know what opportunity can arise from short unexpected interactions. Investors invest in ideas, but also people so make sure both stack up!
Photo by Petr Slováček on Unsplash.
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