ZUBR, a recently launched crypto derivatives exchange, announced today it has received an in-principle decision from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to grant the firm authorization as a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) provider, one of the first European digital derivatives exchanges that will become regulated.
The in-principle approval is the beginning of the final stage of the license authorization process, and ensures that ZUBR shall be, by the time the license is issued, compliant with the nine regulatory principles set out in Gibraltar’s DLT regulations, designed to protect consumers and businesses using digital assets stored or transmitted on distributed ledgers.
These regulatory principles include setting up strong risk management processes, effective corporate governance, high standards of customer care, security controls preventing criminal activity, and abiding by the paramount standard of honesty and integrity.
ZUBR
Introduced in January 2018, Gibraltar’s DLT legislation was the world’s first purpose-built regulatory framework for businesses using blockchain or another DLT.
ZUBR’s client-base includes proprietary trading firms and individuals that trade in a wide range of cryptocurrency markets, using arbitrage and other latency-sensitive strategies across multiple trading venues.
Since ZUBR’s launch, amid unprecedented volatility, the platform has helped its clients to access price data and execute market orders with the best possible speed, while also reducing the risks associated with failures and connectivity outages.
The firm shall be based in Gibraltar, with its infrastructure based in London. It has already seen a cumulative trading volume, as a self-regulated entity, of close to USD $100 million since it commenced its activity in March, outside of Gibraltar.
“This is a great step for ZUBR. A lot of time and resource has been invested to ensure our product goes above and beyond client expectation, from being the first live digital derivatives platform to have been successfully tested by ex-LSE Group testing firm Exactpro, to this licensing process that will position us as one of the first regulated digital derivatives exchanges outside of the US. Since inception, we have always conducted our business as if we were a traditional financial services offering, but having a license in a robust European jurisdiction was always the next step. Gibraltar’s DLT framework provides us with regulatory certainty when dealing with new asset classes, providing our clients with the assurance that ZUBR is the go-to digital assets derivatives exchange.”
– Ilgar Alekperov, CEO of ZUBR