M&G Investments leads $30 million raise for GFO-X

GFO-X, a crypto derivatives venue regulated in the UK, today announced a $30 million Series B round led by MG Investments — the $332 billion asset management arm of the pensions giant.

GFO-X said the funding will support it through to an upcoming launch. Founded in 2020, the platform targets institutional customers in search of a regulated trading venue for derivatives products. 

In April, the startup teamed up with London Stock Exchange Group’s French clearinghouse unit , LCH, which it said would begin clearing bitcoin index futures and options for the platform.

MG portfolio manager, Jeremy Punnett, said in a statement today that the “lack of regulated trading venues is materially hampering the growth of the crypto derivatives trading market.”

He added, “The UK has the potential to become a global hub for crypto asset technology and investment, making London an excellent destination for GFO-X’s new global trading venue. This investment enables GFO-X to scale its operations as the business is set to benefit from investors shifting their trading from unregulated to regulated venues.”