GFO-X announced the launch of its UK FCA regulated trading venue “for centrally cleared digital asset derivatives.”
The venue is designed to meet the institutional demand “for transparent, and compliant digital asset futures and options.”
GFO-X brings together market infrastructure, liquidity, and central clearing to solve “for credit and significantly reduce counterparty risk.”
As part of its lauch, the first institutional trade between two FIs, Virtu Financial and IMC, was executed on GFO-X and centrally cleared through LCH DigitalAssetClear, “marking a milestone in the evolution of institutional-grade digital asset markets.”
The venue brings depth, breadth, and “diversification to the limited choices in centrally cleared digital asset index derivatives.”
GFO-X CEO, Arnab Sen, said:
“The launch of GFO-X is a further foundational step toward increased institutional digital asset derivatives trading, providing the infrastructure, central clearing, robust risk mitigation, and liquidity. With our first trade executed between two leading financial institutions providing deep liquidity, we are expanding the market for centrally cleared digital asset derivatives.”
The global market for digital asset derivatives has “seen growth, with options and futures trading volumes growing.”
Institutional investors, including hedge funds, trading companies, and asset managers, increasingly “turn to structured products underpinned by derivatives to hedge risk, enhance yield strategies, and gain exposure to crypto markets with regulatory clarity.”
GFO-X has been purpose-built to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets by offering:
- Regulated Trading & Transparency – Operating under UK FCA authorisation, ensuring compliance with global financial standards.
- Liquidity – Deep order books supported by industry leading market makers and participants, including IMC, Laser Digital and Virtu Financial.
- Clearing Bank integrations at launch – including ABN AMRO Clearing, Nomura and Standard Chartered.
- Central Clearing for Counterparty Risk Mitigation by LCH DigitalAssetClear ensures secure margining, collateral management, and default protections.
- Market Infrastructure – A high-speed matching engine designed for low-latency execution and high-frequency trading.
With institutional adoption accelerating, GFO-X will continue “expanding its product suite, initially offering Bitcoin index futures and options.”
Market participants can now onboard and begin trading, with “several additional financial institutions lined up for integration.”
As institutions seek regulated solutions for digital asset derivatives trading, GFO-X is positioned to “become a venue in the evolving landscape of institutional crypto derivative markets.”
Marcus Robinson, Head of DigitalAssetClear and CDSClear, LCH, said:
“We are delighted to partner with GFO-X to launch this highly anticipated service from LCH SA. The regulated clearing infrastructure within LSEG’s post trade ecosystem has allowed us to build something meaningful for our participants and address the availability of options for a rapidly growing asset class. It is essential that we find ways to offer regulated, segregated and trusted routes to provide customers with a diverse breadth of services and we are excited to continue working with GFO-X to offer a regulated marketplace for this asset class.”
Barry Polak, Lead Product Commerce, ABN AMRO Clearing, said:
“We are excited to partner with GFO-X, the UK’s first regulated and centrally cleared trading venue dedicated to digital asset derivatives. This strategic collaboration underscores our shared commitment to advancing the institutional digital asset futures and options market. By leveraging LCH DigitalAssetClear’s clearing services, we enhance transaction security and minimise counterparty risk, offering our clients unparalleled confidence in trading Bitcoin futures and options. A logical step to continue to lead the way to safe and transparent markets.”