Kraken-Owned Crypto Facilities Wins UK License to Offer Derivatives Trading
London (Engel Ching/Shutterstock)
A London-based subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has been approved to operate its derivatives platform by the U.K.’s financial regulator.
- Crypto Facilities, also known as Kraken Futures, announced it had been granted a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday.
- The license will allow for institutional clients to trade on the futures platform who would otherwise be prohibited by law from trading on unlicensed exchanges.
- The news marks Crypto Facilities as the first and only licensed derivatives platform offering exposure to leveraged cryptocurrencies in the European Union, according to the company.
- Jesse Powell, the co-founder and CEO of Kraken, said sophisticated investors will now be able to access crypto derivatives in the EU “for the first time.”
- The FCA is planning a limited ban on selling crypto derivatives like exchange-traded notes, arguing such products are “ill-suited” to retail investors.
- The regulator put out a warning about popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX in March, saying the firm had been targeting U.K. investors without its approval.
- Crypto Facilities was acquired by San Francisco-based Kraken in February 2019 in an undisclosed deal thought to be for at least $100 million.
- It currently offers up to 50x leverage on its bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), bitcoin cash (BCH) and litecoin (LTC) futures products.
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