CME to Offer Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether Futures Contracts

Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ethereum futures options will be launched by CME Group on March 28, pending regulatory assessment, according to a recent announcement from the company. They’ll be one-tenth of the size of their counterparts in terms of the underlying tokens. There is a broad spectrum of market players, from institutions to skilled, active, individual traders, who will benefit from these new tools.

Contracts with a value of five bitcoins will be available in 2020, and these new ones will be added to the current Bitcoin options contracts. It also allows customers to express long- or short-term opinions, with monthly and weekly alternatives expiry dates to choose from.

According to Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equity and FX Products at CME Group, “we have worked collaboratively with clients and the wider industry to develop strong and liquid cryptocurrency futures and options markets.”

Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ethereum futures have been traded more than 5.2 million times in less than one year. To help traders of all sizes better manage their cryptocurrency market exposure, we’ve developed micro-sized options that are built on the underlying contracts’ strength and liquidity.

According to Genesis Global Trading’s Head of Derivatives, Joshua Lim, “Micro options give the tailored risk exposure that investors are searching for.”

“We are pleased to be able to provide liquidity on the CME Group’s wide and expanding cryptocurrency product line. With CME Group’s new Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether options contracts launching on the first day of trading, Cumberland is looking forward to providing liquidity from day one, Rob Strebel, DRW’s Head of Relationship Management, stated. There is a high demand for regulated, safe exposure to cryptoassets among our institutional counterparts. CME Group’s innovation in the listed options area gives welcomed flexibility, and we anticipate these products to help attract new investors and strengthen the crypto ecosystem.”

John Harris, CEO of Akuna Digital Assets, stated, “Akuna Capital is looking forward to providing liquidity to CME Group options on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures contracts. Options on these contracts, in our opinion, will provide current market players with additional flexibility in their search for cost-efficient exposure while also extending the market to new investors who prefer the finer grained size.”

It was recently reported that the CME Group had announced plans to launch two new reference rates for bitcoin and ether on February 28 – the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York (BRRNY) and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate New York (ETHUSD NY) – which will provide an updated once-during the day price of the two digital assets in the US dollar, published at 4 p.m New York time on the day of the launch.