Standard Chartered, Virtu Financial join new U.K. crypto derivatives platform

Standard Chartered, Virtu Financial and ABN AMRO Clearing have been announced as strategic partners of Global Futures and Options Ltd. (GFO-X), a UK-based crypto derivatives platform.

On December 9, GFO-X, along with market maker IMC, announced that the three firms were among the top financial sector players joining the UK-regulated platform. GFO-X announced the partnership via a press release, adding that the crypto-focused derivatives trading center will officially open in the first quarter of 2025.

The platform has partnered with companies to meet requirements to offer Bitcoin (BTC) index futures and options to institutional investors. The products will strengthen the financial markets infrastructure of London-based clearing services company LCH SA’s DigitalAssetsClear.

LCH SA is majority owned by London Stock Exchange Group and provides the infrastructure for cash-settled GFO-X derivative transactions.

Andy Ross, global head of principal and finance at Standard Chartered, said:

“We are delighted to support the launch of GFO-X derivatives and join LCH SA as a general clearing member to enable our customers to trade and clear.”

LCH SA received regulatory approval to offer clearing services for BTC index futures in April 2024, nearly a year after the platform announced plans to expand centralized clearing services for GFO-X. LCH DigitalAssetClear operates a separate fund and operates in accordance with specific clearing requirements.

M&G Investments backs GFO-X and has received regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority in 2022.

The launch of the new derivatives trading platform comes as the crypto market attracts more attention around the world. Trading at high levels above $103,000, Bitcoin gained momentum after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November.

In October, crypto exchange OKX selected Standard Chartered as its crypto custodian. In early August, Standard Chartered’s digital bank Mox Bank launched the first spot crypto exchange-traded funds by a virtual bank. ETF products targeted retail investors in Hong Kong.