GCEX Begins Offering Bitcoin and Ether Options to Professionals
On Thursday, the crypto prime brokerage GCEX began providing Bitcoin and Ether options to professional customers. The contracts are dealt over-the-counter via its UK subsidiary, GC Exchange Limited, which holds authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority. According to the firm, hedge funds, asset managers and family offices meeting professional-client criteria may ask the GCEX desk for pricing. Retail participants are barred, as the FCA has prohibited crypto-derivative sales to such investors since January 2021.
Monthly Contracts Settled in Fiat
When introduced, the desk began quoting European-style call and put options that may be exercised solely at expiration. These contracts mature each month and are settled in fiat money. The firm indicated that pricing is sourced from GCEX’s liquidity providers, and the resulting positions appear in its XplorPortal system together with customers’ spot-crypto and foreign-exchange transactions. The options are housed within the same UK entity that operates the firm’s FX and CFD operations. During a growth initiative, GC Exchange Limited recorded a pre-tax loss in 2025.
GC Exchange Limited’s authorization is listed under firm reference number 828730. The FCA is among twelve regulators whose public registers are monitored by FM Intelligence’s licensing tracker. Spot-crypto transactions remain with GC Exchange A/S, which is authorized by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. A third division located in Dubai, now headed by Alya Marrakchi, possesses a licence from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
Lars Holst, who founded GCEX and serves as its chief executive, noted that institutional customers were seeking “a regulated way to hedge … without onboarding to an exchange.” He added that GCEX offsets each transaction through its liquidity providers and does not assume the opposite side of client trades. According to the announcement, purchasers are limited to losing only the premium paid, whereas sellers may incur losses exceeding the amount they received. Kraken and FalconX already provide quotes on a request-basis.
The initiative mirrors a wider shift occurring within the institutional cryptocurrency sector. Since mid-2025, a number of crypto companies have begun delivering institutional OTC options. In July, Ripple’s subsidiary Hidden Road incorporated cross-margined OTC crypto options into its prime brokerage offering. That September, FalconX launched 24-hour electronic access to its options desk, encompassing Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and HYPE. Kraken introduced European-style Bitcoin and Ether options settled in U.S. dollars in July, available solely via request-for-quote, with maturities ranging from weekly to semi-annual.
