Share this article
UK's First Centrally Cleared FCA-Regulated Crypto Derivatives Trading Venue GFO-X Debuts
The new platform executed its first trade on Tuesday between financial institutions Virtu Financial and IMC .
Updated May 20, 2025, 2:20 p.m. Published May 13, 2025, 1:04 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
- GFO-X debuted its centrally cleared, FCA-regulated crypto derivatives platform.
- The platform executed its first trade on Tuesday between financial institutions Virtu Financial and IMC and was cleared by DigitalAssetClear.
- The U.K regulator lifted its ban from 2020 on crypto derivatives instruments for institutional investors in March 2024.
CORRECTION (May 20, 14:20 UTC): Adds that GFO-X is specifically the first centrally cleared FCA-regulated crypto derivatives platform. Article also previously said that the FCA has lifted the ban on crypto derivatives for institutional investors. This is not the case as the ban (which is still in place) only applied to retail.
GFO-X debuted its centrally cleared, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated crypto derivatives platform, the U.K's first such trading venue for digital assets.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
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 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.
Read More: In $2.9B Deal, Coinbase Agrees to Buy Deribit to Expand in U.S. Crypto Options Market
More For You
Specialized AI detects 92% of real-world DeFi exploits
New research claims specialized AI dramatically outperforms general-purpose models at detecting exploited DeFi vulnerabilities.
What to know:
- A purpose-built AI security agent detected vulnerabilities in 92% of 90 exploited DeFi contracts ($96.8 million in exploit value), compared with 34% and $7.5 million for a baseline GPT-5.1-based coding agent running on the same underlying model.
- The gap came from domain-specific security methodology layered on top of the model, not differences in core AI capability, according to the report.
- The findings come as prior research from Anthropic and OpenAI shows AI agents can execute end-to-end smart contract exploits at low cost, accelerating concerns that offensive AI capabilities are scaling faster than defensive adoption.
Top Stories
