Gemini wins CFTC DCO license to clear Titan trades

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted Gemini a Derivatives Clearing Organization license on Thursday, permitting the exchange's Olympus unit to act as the clearinghouse for trades on the Titan platform, including futures, options and prediction-market contracts.

As a DCO, Olympus can handle settlement, risk management, collateral and trade guarantees for cleared transactions. Gemini said Olympus will let the firm list predictions, futures, options and perpetual contracts on Titan without relying on third-party clearing firms, which the company said may reduce operating costs and centralize post-trade functions.

Gemini already holds a Designated Contract Market license granted in December; that DCM houses the exchange's prediction market and serves as the venue for derivative listings under the Titan affiliate. With the DCO in place, the firm said it is pursuing additional CFTC permissions and may apply for or acquire a Futures Commission Merchant license.

A small number of crypto-native firms operate both DCM and DCO functions. Crypto.com and Bitnomial are among firms pursuing a full CFTC stack. Payward, Kraken's parent company, agreed this month to acquire Bitnomial, and Kraken previously acquired a DCM. Coinbase is seeking a DCO through the proposed acquisition of an existing clearing firm.

Gemini went public in September as Gemini Space Station (GEMI). The company reported nearly $600 million in net losses last year and its stock has fallen since listing. In recent months the exchange reshaped its executive team, withdrew from the U.K., the European Union and Australia, and launched Agentic Trading, a feature that allows users to run trading bots via an API.

The DCO license requires Gemini to meet standards for financial safeguards, operational resilience and risk controls that apply to clearing organizations. For participants on Titan, Olympus serving as the clearinghouse creates a single counterparty for cleared trades and makes the exchange responsible for margin collection and default procedures.

Gemini president and co-founder Cameron Winklevoss called the approval ‘a major milestone in Gemini’s marketplace expansion,' adding the firm now has ‘a full-stack, end-to-end marketplace for predictions as well as futures, options, and more.'