CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, has announced that it will be expanding its suite of event contracts to include Bitcoin futures starting from March 13.
Pending regulatory approval, these new contracts are designed to offer a more transparent and less complex way for investors to access cryptocurrency markets.
The new contracts will track the daily price movements of the benchmark Bitcoin futures and offer an innovative way for investors to trade on Bitcoin's volatility.
They are valued at up to $20 per contract and enable participants to know their maximum profit or loss when entering a trade.
"Our new event contracts on Bitcoin futures provide a highly transparent and fully regulated platform for investors," said Tim McCourt, Global head of equity and FX products at CME Group.
The world's largest futures exchange launched its own Bitcoin futures contract in December 2017, which coincided with the end of the previous bull market. That said, the launch of Bitcoin futures by leading U.S. exchanges has been seen as a step toward establishing the cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class.
Later, the Chicago-based trading giant made further strides in the crypto derivatives space with Bitcoin options trading, followed by Ethereum futures trading in February 2021.
The company has an impressive roster of benchmark futures markets that includes gold, silver, copper, crude oil, natural gas and other assets.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov