GCEX has opened an over-the-counter options service on Bitcoin and Ether through GC Exchange Limited, according to its 22 October announcement. The product is intended for eligible professional and institutional customers, including asset managers, hedge funds and family offices. It is not a retail-facing exchange options screen, and the UK-authorised counterparty must be distinguished from the group’s Danish and Dubai digital-asset businesses.[1]
At launch the contracts are European-style calls and puts with monthly expiries and fiat settlement. Clients request a price from GCEX’s OTC desk. The firm says it sources pricing from tier-one liquidity providers and hedges every trade; those are its stated arrangements, rather than independently tested execution results.[1]
An RFQ desk rather than a listed orderbook
Documented trading workflow
| Stage | GCEX position | Consequence for the client |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | Professional or institutional client classification | Retail availability is not claimedSource 1 |
| Execution | Request-for-quote through an OTC desk | No published consolidated orderbook or standard exchange spreadSource 1 |
| Contracts | European-style monthly BTC and ETH options | Exercise/settlement determined by contract termsSource 1 |
| Settlement | Fiat rather than physical delivery | A settled position does not itself deliver BTC or ETHSource 1 |
| Reporting | XplorPortal positions, valuation and expiry information | Portal visibility is not independent price verificationSource 1 |
Option buyers can lose the premium paid. Sellers may lose more than the premium received, as the launch announcement warns. The collateral, valuation and close-out terms therefore remain material alongside the quoted option price.[1]
The announcement does not give a universal minimum trade size, spread, settlement benchmark or collateral rate. Those terms must be established in the quote and contract rather than inferred from the monthly expiry or European-style exercise convention.[1]
Three authorised businesses, not one permission
The release identifies GC Exchange Limited as the UK FCA-authorised service provider for this options offer. It separately describes GC Exchange A/S as a Danish MiCA crypto-asset service provider for spot trading and conversions, and GC Exchange FZE as a Dubai VARA licensee. A group-level brand description does not make all products available under all three authorisations.[1]
Sources & further reading
- GCEX Launches Options on Digital Assets GCEX · 22 Oct 2026 · Accessed 29 Oct 2026