ELX Futures Receives CFTC Approval for Exchange Status

ELX Futures, L.P., a new fully electronic futures exchange, received approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for its application to become a designated contract market (DCM). Filed on Nov. 27, 2008, the application was approved within the regulatory statutory time frame, according to the company’s release.

The new futures exchange is in the midst of intensive testing and plans to announce a launch date, fee schedule, and other important facts about its start of business in the coming days. ELX Futures is still on target for a June 2009 start of operations with an initial product slate in U.S. Treasury futures contacts.

“Receiving CFTC approval marks a watershed moment for ELX Futures. The approval culminates a great deal of dedication from our founding firms, the ELX Futures Operating Committee, our staff, the BGC Partners’ technology team and our legal advisers at Sullivan & Cromwell,” stated Neal Wolkoff, CEO of ELX Futures in the company’s release. Wolkoff also thanked the staff of the CFTC for their “diligence and rigor in helping to make the ELX Futures product much improved from its original state.”

ELX Futures was formed to serve as a competitive alternative to the mainstream futures exchange marketplace that will benefit all market participants, according to Wolkoff in the release.

ELX Futures was founded by leading financial institutions that include Bank of America, Barclays Capital, BGC Partners, Breakwater, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, GETCO, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, PEAK6, and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio