ErisX Granted Derivatives Clearing Organization License

ErisX announced that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the United States’ regulatory agency with jurisdiction over futures markets, has granted Eris Clearing a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) license under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). This supplements the Designated Contract Market (DCM) license already held by Eris Exchange since 2011.

“ErisX is unique in that for our digital asset market, we have divided the trading and settlement functions using traditional DCM (exchange) and DCO (clearing) models,” said Thomas Chippas, Chief Executive Officer of ErisX. “This reflects the structure that institutional investors expect from other asset classes and will help drive these markets toward greater relevance and accessibility.”

As a registered DCO, the ErisX clearinghouse will offer the clearing of digital asset futures contracts traded on ErisX’s regulated derivatives market, which will launch later this year. Eris Clearing will comply with the 17 core principles under the CEA including, among other things, establishing standards and procedures to protect members and participant funds, risk management capabilities and rule enforcement policies.

“Our clearinghouse is guided by a long-standing regulatory framework that protects participants and market integrity; and we are applying these same regulatory principles to our recently-launched spot market as well,” said Laurian Cristea, General Counsel at ErisX. “Obtaining the DCO license is the second key enterprise goal we achieved this year, after launching our spot market. When futures on digital assets launch later this year we will offer the market a single unified platform for both spot and futures.”

“By establishing a marketplace and developing infrastructure typically associated with traditional markets, ErisX has eliminated many of the obstacles institutional investors face in accessing digital assets,” said Don Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of DRW. “This is another step in the development and maturation of the markets.”

“ErisX has worked diligently with market authorities to build an environment that follows time-tested processes and guidelines, which is unique to the digital asset space,” said Dean Carlson, Digital Asset Principle Investing at Susquehanna International Group. “The frameworks and regulations in place on the ErisX platform ensure not only security and transparency but familiarity in a nascent asset class.”