Bitcoin market GFO-X nears testing ahead of early 2025 launch

GFO-X, which secured last December $30m (£24m) in a funding round led by M&G Investments, is said by sources to be in the final stages of its technology work and planning to move forward to client testing shortly ahead of go-live in the new year.

The sources said global investment banks have already onboarded to trade bitcoin futures and options at GFO-X and clear the contracts through LCH DigitalAsset Clear, the crypto arm of LSE Group-owned LCH.

GFO-X is also working to onboard crypto futures and options market-makers to ensure liquidity on the new platform from day one, according to the same sources.

The launch of the first UK regulated and cleared crypto market is seen as a milestone for the institutional adoption of the emerging asset class which has been hampered by scandals such as the implosion of FTX in late 2022.

The Financial Conduct Authority-regulated trading venue signed in April last year a deal with LCH under which the London clearing house agreed to establish a new crypto clearing division and support GFO-X as its inaugural client.

LCH DigitalAssetClear is part of LCH SA, the group’s Paris-based arm which promoted in October last year Corentine Poilvet-Clédière to chief executive.

GFO-X chief executive Arnab Sen told FOW in May last year his venue’s focus on crypto derivatives and relationship with LCH set it apart from other regulated exchanges that have already launched their cryptocurrency products.

GFO-X said in April last year that it planned to go live in the fourth quarter of 2023 before delaying in October last year the launch to the first quarter of 2024.

CME Group, which launched its first bitcoin futures in December 2017, has established itself as the home of regulated, cleared bitcoin trading.

The US group’s main bitcoin future has had this year its three busiest months on record, trading 343,200 lots in January, 350,400 lots in August and 361,200 contracts in March, according to FOW Data.

CME’s previous best single month for the bitcoin future was 333,400 lots in January 2021, FOW Data shows.

Eurex launched its bitcoin futures and options in April last year, making the German group the first European exchange to offer cleared bitcoin derivatives.

Eurex’s US dollar denominated bitcoin future had its best month in September last year when it traded 38,420 but volumes have tailed off recently to 320 lots last month, according to FOW Data.