Gibraltar to Establish Crypto Derivatives Clearing, Settlement Rules to Enhance Market Integrity

The Gibraltar government said it plans to establish the world’s first rules for the clearing and settlement of crypto derivatives, creating a regulatory framework to improve market integrity and reduce key risks.

Working with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and crypto exchange Bullish (CoinDesk’s parent company), the government has built a framework over the past six months that tailors traditional financial clearing regulations to the virtual asset market.

The framework will enable virtual asset derivative contracts to be cleared and settled by a recognized clearing house, Bullish said on Tuesday.

Clearing houses ensure that trades are finalized, with buyers and sellers meeting their commitments. Many virtual asset exchanges have been performing that function which, in the absence of regulatory oversight, can lead to failures in the process, Bullish said.

The proposed regime will allow the establishment of separate clearing houses with “improved transparency and capitalization,” it said.