LCH Goes Live With DigitalAssetClear

LCH has launched a clearing service for digital asset derivatives that are traded on UK exchange GFO-X, with ABN Amro Clearing Bank, Nomura International and Standard Chartered Bank signing up as the first clearing members.

The service, dubbed LCH DigitalAssetClear, provides market participants with access to clearing cash-settled Bitcoin index futures and options contracts in a regulated environment. GFO-X is the first centrally-cleared multilateral trading facility dedicated to digital asset futures and options that’s regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

The service was developed by LCH SA, together with GFO-X and other market participants to create a secure, segregated, highly regulated service that focuses purely on digital asset derivatives. The crypto derivatives market has grown rapidly in recent years, with the CME registering a 129% average daily volume increase in its digital asset contracts in April compared with 2024. The overall market was estimated to be $1.33 trillion last year.

“The regulated clearing infrastructure within LSEG’s post trade ecosystem has allowed us to build something meaningful for our participants and address the availability of options for a rapidly growing asset class,” says Marcus Robinson, head of DigitalAssetClear and CDSClear at LCH. “It is essential that we find ways to offer regulated, segregated and trusted routes to provide customers with a diverse breadth of services.”

All cash-settled Bitcoin index futures and options contracts traded on GFO-X will be cleared through LCH DigitalAssetClear using the GFO-X/Coin Metrics Single Asset Real-Time Bitcoin Index (GFOXBR), which is an EU Benchmark Regulation compliant reference rate for the US dollar price of Bitcoin.

Arnab Sen, CEO and co-founder of GFO-X says he believes that the digital asset derivatives market, particularly options, will grow exponentially given a regulated environment and tools that mitigate counterparty risk. “The combination of GFO-X’s dedicated digital asset derivatives offering and LCH DigitalAssetClear brings much needed choice and venue diversification to institutional investors,” he says. “By integrating LCH DigitalAssetClear, our UK regulated venue brings much needed enhanced risk mitigation to digital asset derivatives.”