London Stock Exchange may provide clearing services for BTC derivatives starting in Q4

boss

The United Kingdom could see its first centrally cleared trading venue for digital asset derivatives due to a partnership between a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) business and trading startup Global Futures and Options (GFO-X). They intend to launch the service in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to an April 11 announcement, LCH SA, the Paris-based subsidiary of the LSEG clearinghouse, is set to provide clearing services for dollar-denominated, cash-settled Bitcoin (BTC) index futures and options contracts traded on the GFO-X venue. The plan still requires regulatory approval.

GFO-X is regulated by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate a multilateral trading facility. GFO-X CEO and cofounder Arnab Sen described the company as “The UK’s first regulated and centrally cleared trading venue focused entirely on digital asset futures and options.”

Related: The creator of the FTSE100 launches indices for crypto

LCH SA has created a new, segregated clearing service called LCH DigitalAssetClear. Frank SoussanM  head of LCH DigitalAssetClear, said:

“Bitcoin index futures and options are a rapidly growing asset class, with increasing interest among institutional market participants looking for access within a regulated environment they are familiar with.”

Traditional financial institutions and other major corporations are increasingly moving into digital assets. In January, Samsung launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is seeking to expand its crypto trading. Meanwhile, a Boerse Stuttgart Digital subsidiary recently received approval from German regulators to offer crypto custody service. Nasdaq is expected to launch a crypto custody service in the first half of this year.

Magazine: Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton ‘10x more into BTC, 4x more into ETH’: Hall of Flame