(Adds detail on regulators, rival bourses)
By Huw Jones
LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group has teamed up with Global Futures and Options (GFO-X)
to offer Britain's first regulated trading and clearing in
bitcoin index futures and options derivatives, the companies
said on Thursday.
Britain, which aims to become a global hub for crypto
technology, launched a public consultation earlier this year on
future rules for cryptoassets, which are currently unregulated.
GFO-X, which is licensed by the UK's Financial Conduct
Authority, is a start-up platform aimed at global institutional
investors who want to trade digital asset derivatives.
LSEG's Paris-based LCH SA clearing unit will introduce a
new, segregated clearing service, DigitalAssetClear, for
cash-settled dollar-denominated digital assets traded on GFO-X.
The new service is anticipated to start in the fourth
quarter of this year, pending approval from French and European
Union regulators.
"GFO-X is taking the first steps to extracting efficiencies
from new technologies within a traditional market structure,
with the goal over time of delivering 24/7 trading to global
regulated digital asset markets," GFO-X said in a statement.
Rival CME Group already offers bitcoin futures and
options, while CBOE acquired a digital asset exchange,
ErisX.
Deutsche Boerse's Eurex is due to launch dollar
and euro denominated futures on the FTSE bitcoin index next
Monday.
GFO-X's inclusion of a long-established mainstream clearing
house is aimed at reassuring investors after collapses in the
crypto sector, including FTX exchange.
"Recent market events in the trading of digital assets have
highlighted the need for a safe, regulated venue where large
financial institutions can trade at scale, while keeping their
clients’ assets protected," said Arnab Sen, chief executive and
co-founder of GFO-X.
Frank Soussan, head of LCH DigitalAssetClear, said bitcoin
index futures and options are a rapidly growing asset class,
with growing interest among institutional investors.
"We look forward to working with GFO-X and market
participants alike to build a liquid, regulated marketplace for
these products, and contributing to its safe growth and
development," Soussan said.
LSEG owns data and analytics business Refinitiv, formerly a
division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters holds a minority
stake in LSEG, and LSEG pays Reuters for news.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Mike Harrison and Susan
Fenton)
Messaging: huw.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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