LSE partners with digital trading platform to offer bitcoin futures and options

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LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange Group has partnered with Global Futures and Options (GFO-X) to offer the UK’s first regulated market for trading and clearing bitcoin index futures and derivatives. options, the companies announced Thursday.

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 for global institutional investors who want to trade digital asset derivatives.

LSEG’s Paris-based clearing unit LCH SA will introduce a new separate clearing service, DigitalAssetClear, for dollar-denominated, cash-settled 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 providing 24/7 trading to global markets in ‘regulated digital assets,’ GFO-X said in a statement.

The inclusion of a long-established traditional clearing house aims to reassure investors after the collapse of the crypto sector, including the FTX exchange.

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

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

“We look forward to working with GFO-X and market participants to create a liquid and regulated market for these products, and to help it grow and develop safely,” Soussan said.

Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Mike Harrison

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