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Cboe Clear Europe launches clearing service for European SFTs in cash equities and ETFslaunches clearing service for European SFTs in cash equities and ETFs Natixis CIB and JP Morgan among first participants to use new serviceand among first participants to use new service Introduced to meet strong client demand for central clearing of SFTs, enhancing capital, operational and post-trade processing efficiencies amid evolving regulatory requirementsAMSTERDAM and LONDON, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announces that Cboe Clear Europe has commenced clearing of European Securities Financing Transactions (SFTs). Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking acted as a Principal Lender against JP Morgan as a Borrower, as part of the first trades cleared through the new service.Cboe Clear Europe has leveraged its position as the largest pan-European clearing house for cash equities to bring this first-of-its-kind service to market, which represents a key step in the company's strategy to become a leading multi-asset class clearing house in the region. This service transforms the bilateral process for SFTs in European equities and ETFs into a centrally cleared model, helping to increase the capital efficiencies associated with activities such as securities lending and supporting the growth of this key market. In addition to the firms that have already used the service, a number of others - including banks, asset managers, broker-dealers, and Agent Lenders - have completed final testing in preparation for clearing.The service utilises BNY and JP Morgan as Tri-Party Collateral Agents, while Pirum serves as the transmitter of new trade instructions and post-trade lifecycle events on behalf of clients.Vikesh Patel, President of Cboe Clear Europe, said: "We're delighted to extend our clearing capabilities with this transformative service for European SFTs. This launch responds to strong client demand for a clearing solution to help improve the capital efficiencies associated with stock borrowing and lending activities – delivering significant benefits to all participants in this ecosystem, including asset owners which lend out inventory as a way of generating additional income for their members

Although $12 billion worth of Bitcoin options contracts expire tomorrow—one of the largest quarterly expiries that derivatives exchange Deribit has seen—CEO Luuk Strijers says he expects volatility to be subdued.On Derebit alone, the March 28 expiry affects 45% of the open options contracts on the platform. The exchange currently has $27 billion worth of open interest in Bitcoin contracts, with the put/call ratio skewing slightly pessimistic at 0.52.A call option gives buyers the right, but does not oblige them to buy an asset at a set price before the option expires. Typically, traders open these contracts when they're expecting a price increase. A put option allows a trader to sell an asset at a set price before expiration. Traders tend to use them when they're expecting an asset's price to decrease.Analysts at Singapore-based crypto trading desk, QCP Capital, flagged $85,000 as the max pain point. Bitcoin was recently trading at $87,016, up 0.4% over the past 24 hours, according to data provider CoinGecko.But so far, indicators make it seem unlikely derivatives traders will be in for max pain."Deribit DVOL is currently at 47, which is relatively low—comparable to levels seen at the end of February and August 2024—signaling low implied volatility and limited expectations for sharp price action," Deribit's Strijers told Decrypt in an email.Source: DeribitThe Derebit Implied Volatility Index, or DVOL, uses current activity in options markets to predict price volatility in the next 30 days.It's a Bitcoin and Ethereum equivalent of the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, which measures the stock market's expectation of volatility based on SP 500 index options.Strijers sent his comment to Decrypt earlier this week, before U.S

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENEBitcoin, along with most top coins, has taken a dip as investors brace for a "triple witching" dose of market volatility.At the time of publication, Bitcoin's price has shed 2.4% since yesterday, slipping below $84,000. The Ethereum price followed it, also dropping 2.4% to trade for $1,948.93, according to CoinGecko data.ETH hasn't been this low since November 2023, right before a Bitcoin rally helped it climb out of a months-long trough and back above $2,000.The XRP price has dropped by 5.2% since yesterday. Earlier this week, XRP saw a huge surge after Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC will soon drop its lawsuit against the company—though the regulator has yet to file paperwork to do so, and declined to comment on the matter when asked by Decrypt.What is triple witching?Triple witching describes the simultaneous expiry of stock index futures, stock index options, and stock options in traditional markets. Today marks the first of four such events in 2025.They always occur on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. They're known to set off heightened volatility as traders rush to adjust and close positions before contracts settle at the end of the day.In rare events, it coincides with the expiry of single-stock futures and creates a quadruple witching day