FX and crypto exchange operator LMAX and SIX Securities Services, the post trade arm of SIX Group have joined forces to launch cash-settled, centrally cleared crypto futures, enabling institutional market participants to benefit from new opportunities emerging in cryptocurrency for institutional market participants.
The launch, expected in the third quarter 2022 pending regulatory approval, will initially include centrally cleared Us dollar settled bitcoin and ethereum futures, trading 23 hours, five days a week, with the full product roll out to be extended to 24/7 trading.
The partnership will leverage the expertise of the two firms and immediate uptake is expected to be received from LMAX Group’s existing clients, as institutionalisation continues to occur in the digital asset ecosystem and demand for robust trading infrastructure increases.
LMAX Group said in a statement that as digital assets and traditional capital markets increasingly converge, it sees perpetual trading at the forefront of transitioning to complete, open market access, ensuring more efficient functioning of capital markets and increasing levels of global trade.
“As institutional adoption of crypto trading continues to increase, we will complete our offering by adding crypto futures to our portfolio through this partnership,” said David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, whose global institutional client base includes 35 top tier banks.
He added that the market in crypto futures is three times bigger than spot and by offering access to deep institutional liquidity, they aim to “close the gap, enabling round-the-clock trading of crypto futures, seven days/week, meeting the needs of a rapidly growing number of institutional participants.”
Javier Hernani, head securities services, SIX said, “This is a major milestone for SIX from several perspectives. We are making substantial progress according to our digital asset clearing strategy and are expanding our portfolio of cleared asset classes.
At the same time, we have the opportunity to bring our Swiss and Spanish infrastructure strengths together by having a diverse project team with experts from both sides.”
©Markets Media Europe 2022
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