The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) recently announced plans to add Ethereum (ETH) futures contracts to its offering - three years after the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts. Where the development of the market affected the stock exchange's decision to expand.
A representative of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange told Cointelegraph: Since our launch of the Ethereum Futures Dollar Price Index reference rate and real-time price index in 2018, There has been significant growth in Ethereum transactions, and increased customer demand for price risk management tools.
Similar to the Bitcoin reference rate on the cryptocurrency exchange, the Ethereum reference rate against the dollar and the real-time index basically show the traded market price of Ethereum. The representative said: As with any new product or service, we have made the decision to launch Ethereum futures contracts based on strong customer demand with a clear need for this ... Listing Ethereum futures contracts on a regulated, time-tested exchange will help create a curve Futures for investors to hedge their exposure in the money market.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange made this announcement on December 16th, indicating plans for the product to enter the market in February 2021. However, regulations still influence the equation. A representative of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange said: We are in contact with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTF) and are currently planning to certify early in the first quarter.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bitcoin futures trading product arrived on the market on December 17, 2017 - just over three years ago. The exchange then launched Bitcoin options trading in early 2020. Both products have received large volume numbers and notable attention.
