Iosco claims that exchanges are starting to operate more like big corporations, with a focus on cross-border, diverse, and competitive activities.

It involves more than simply one company acquiring several national exchanges; it also involves the acquisition of data suppliers, digital asset platforms, and other supporting services.

Iosco is particularly concerned about the governance and regulatory ramifications for international exchange groups, including the difficulty of "overseeing individual exchanges within exchange groups" and possible conflicts of interest resulting from "matrix structures."

Iosco has recommended six things to regulators, including oversight of the ownership and structure of large exchange groups and handling of conflicts of interest and regulatory compliance.

Isadora Tarola, chair of the Iosco committee on secondary market regulation, stated, "In today's rapidly evolving financial landscape, this consultation report sheds light on the shifts occurring within exchanges worldwide and offers six good practices as well as supervisory toolkits which aim to address the challenges and ensure effective oversight in this evolving environment."
The deadline for market participants to provide their feedback on the consultation document is July 3.