As a seasoned financial analyst with over two decades of experience under my belt, I find the partnership between Standard Chartered, Virtu Financial, ABN AMRO Clearing, and Global Futures and Options Ltd. (GFO-X) an intriguing development in the rapidly evolving crypto market. The fact that these established players are joining forces with a U.K.-based crypto derivatives platform is a testament to the growing maturity and institutionalization of this space.
It has been revealed that Standard Chartered, Virtu Financial, and ABN AMRO Clearing are set to collaborate as strategic partners with Global Futures and Options X (GFO-X), a cryptocurrency derivatives platform based in the United Kingdom.
On December 9th, it was announced that GFO-X, along with three other leading firms and market maker IMC, are set to join a U.K. regulated platform as key players in the financial industry. This partnership was disclosed through a press release, and GFO-X also mentioned that their crypto-focused derivatives trading venue is scheduled to debut in the first quarter of 2025.
Through partnerships, the platform is working alongside various companies to fulfill the needs for providing institutional investors with Bitcoin (BTC) index futures and options. These offerings will utilize the digital asset clearing system provided by LCH SA’s DigitalAssetsClear, a London-based clearing services provider.
The main shareholder of LCH SA is the London Stock Exchange Group, and it provides the necessary infrastructure for settling derivative trades based on the GFX-X index in a cash format.
Andy Ross, global head, prime & financing, at Standard Chartered, commented:
It’s exciting for us to be part of the debut of GFO-X derivatives and to become a general clearing member at LCH SA, allowing our customers to both trade and settle their transactions.
In April 2024, LCH SA received approval to provide Bitcoin index futures clearing services, which comes about a year after they initially announced their intention to expand central clearing services for GFO-X. The LCH DigitalAssetClear operates independently and adheres to the regulations specific to its dedicated clearing activities.
In 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority gave its approval for M&G Investments to support GFO-X.
The debut of the novel derivatives trading system arrives as the cryptocurrency market garners increasing global interest. Notably, Bitcoin, which surged past $103k, has seen a surge in popularity following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2020 Presidential Election.
In October, OKX chose Standard Chartered to be their cryptocurrency guardian. Back in August, Standard Chartered’s digital bank, Mox Bank, introduced the initial spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds by a virtual bank. These ETF products were designed for retail investors in Hong Kong.
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2024-12-09 17:54