CME Group is about to introduce a brand new Bitcoin futures contract, dubbed Bitcoin Friday futures, on September 30, pending regulatory approval.
These smaller-sized contracts are designed to draw retail buyers who could discover present choices or the value of Bitcoin (BTC) too massive and costly.
Priced at one-fiftieth of a Bitcoin, Bitcoin Friday Futures — or BFF contracts — shall be cash-settled, which means they gained’t settle in crypto. They may expire each Friday, offering merchants with a extra accessible and versatile possibility for managing their Bitcoin publicity, in keeping with a press launch.
The BFF contracts shall be listed each Thursday for buying and selling the next Friday, permitting contributors to commerce the closest two Fridays at any given time. This new product goals to assist buyers mitigate weekend value volatility by intently monitoring the spot value of Bitcoin.
Earlier on August 27, Nasdaq introduced plans to record Bitcoin index choices buying and selling that may observe the value of Bitcoin represented by the CME CF Bitcoin Actual-Time index.
Bitcoin contracts
Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s World Head of Cryptocurrency Merchandise, emphasised that these contracts permit institutional and retail merchants to fine-tune their Bitcoin publicity on a regulated trade.
The contracts will settle to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Price New York Variant, ticker image ‘BRRNY,’ a benchmark additionally utilized by spot Bitcoin ETFs, enhancing liquidity and market effectivity throughout U.S. buying and selling hours.
“By settling to the BRRNY, the benchmark utilized by main spot bitcoin ETFs, merchants can even profit from rising liquidity and the power to extra effectively seize market strikes throughout U.S. hours,”
Giovanni Vicioso.
Interactive Brokers, Plus500, and Webull have expressed assist for the launch, highlighting the product’s flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and attraction to a broad vary of buyers—primarily retail buyers.
This launch is a part of CME Group’s ongoing efforts to broaden its cryptocurrency derivatives choices following the success of its present Bitcoin futures and Micro Bitcoin futures merchandise.
Earlier this yr, the SEC permitted spot Bitcoin ETF buying and selling, which led many massive monetary establishments to file for their very own spot Bitcoin ETFs.
