CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) will kick off Bitcoin futures at 5PM CT on Sunday, December 10th. Monday morning on the 11th will commence the first full day of BTC futures trading thus representing a comping of age event for cryptocurrencies. The CBOE said that trading in the BTC futures will be free through the month of December but expectations are for trading to be robust as institutional interest is very high. Over the last five years, the total value of all Bitcoin outstanding has grown from less than $1 billion to over $183 billion with daily notional turnover over $10 billion. The total value of all cryptocurrency tokens outstanding is now pegged at $332 billion.
“Given the unprecedented interest in bitcoin, it’s vital we provide clients the trading tools to help them express their views and hedge their exposure. We are committed to encouraging fairness and liquidity in the bitcoin market. To promote this, we will initially offer XBT futures trading for free,” commented Ed Tilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBOE.
CBOE’s Bitcoin futures will trade on CFE under the ticker symbol ‘XBT.’
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XBTSM futures are cash-settled contracts based on Gemini’s auction price for Bitcoin, denominated in U.S. dollars.
Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) is a digital asset exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets such as Bitcoin. XBT futures are specifically designed to allow participants to implement straightforward trading strategies, through settlement to a single, tradeable auction price.
Tyler Winkelvoss
, Chief Executive Officer of Gemini and an early investor in Bitcoin, commented on the announcement;
“Developing a regulated derivatives market is the next logical and crucial step towards advancing the broader digital asset market. We have been working for years to build infrastructure to grow the digital asset market and today’s news marks a significant milestone.”
On Friday, December 1, CBOE announced that CFE had filed a product certification with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to offer bitcoin futures trading.
More information on XBT futures is available here.
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