London Stock Exchange partners digital trading platform to offer Bitcoin futures and options

LONDON Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has teamed up with Global Futures and Options (GFO-X) to offer Britain’s first regulated trading and clearing in Bitcoin index futures and options derivatives, the companies said on Thursday (Apr 13).

Britain, which aims to become a global hub for crypto technology, launched a public consultation earlier this year on future rules for crypto assets, which are currently unregulated.

GFO-X, which is licensed by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, is a startup platform aimed at global institutional investors who want to trade digital asset derivatives.

LSEG’s Paris-based LCH clearing unit will introduce a new, segregated clearing service, called DigitalAssetClear, for cash-settled US dollar-denominated digital assets traded on GFO-X.

The new service is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year, pending approval from French regulators.

“GFO-X is taking the first steps to extract efficiencies from new technologies within a traditional market structure, with the goal over time of delivering 24/7 trading to global regulated digital asset markets,” GFO-X said in a statement.

The inclusion of a long-established mainstream clearing house is aimed at reassuring investors after collapses in the crypto sector, including FTX last year.

Arnab Sen, chief executive and co-founder of GFO-X, said: “Recent market events in the trading of digital assets have highlighted the need for a safe, regulated venue, where large financial institutions can trade at scale, while keeping their clients’ assets protected.”

Frank Soussan, head of LCH DigitalAssetClear, said Bitcoin index futures and options are a rapidly growing asset class, with increasing interest among institutional investors.

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“We look forward to working with GFO-X and market participants alike to build a liquid, regulated marketplace for these products, and contributing to its safe growth and development,” he said. REUTERS