UK’s First FCA-Regulated Crypto Derivatives Trading Venue GFO-X Debuts in London

GFO-X has debuted its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated crypto derivatives platform, the U.K’s first such trading venue for digital assets.

The new platform executed its first trade on Tuesday between financial institutions Virtu Financial and IMC, and was cleared by DigitalAssetClear, GFO-X announced on Tuesday.

DigitalAssetClear, created by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) subsidiary LCH, is a service for cash-settled bitcoin index futures and options contracts.

GFO-X is also supported by major banks ABN AMRO, Nomura and Standard Chartered, who are providing clearing for transactions on the platform.

The U.K.’s FCA lifted its ban from 2020 on crypto derivatives instruments for institutional investors in March 2024. This was followed by the London Stock Exchange saying it would accept application for cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs).

The debut of GFO-X demonstrates the ongoing development of the regulated crypto trading ecosystem in the U.K. The crypto derivative plays are also gaining traction globally, as Galaxy secured U.K. approval for a license to expand its derivatives trading last month and Coinbase bought Deribit in a $2.9 billion deal earlier this month.