CME Group, which is the largest market of financial derivatives, annoucned on Tuesday that it planned to launch Bitcoin futures before the end of this year after obtaining the necessary permits from regulators.
The news supported the Bitcoin price, which updated the record high above $6400. Today, the quotation rose above $6,600. Since the beginning of this year, the value of the digital currency has grown more than fivefold. At the current price, the market capitalization of Bitcoin reaches $110 billion.
The launch of Bitcoin futures on the largest tightly regulated exchange can help cryptocurrencies gain official status in the financial world. Uncertainty about their legal status has consistently kept the digital currencies trading on the periphery of financial markets.
Bitcoine futures could also become the basis for the creation of exchange investment funds.
Terry Duffy, CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Given increasing client interest in the evolving cryptocurrency markets, we have decided to introduce a bitcoin futures contract. As the world's largest regulated FX marketplace, CME Group is the natural home for this new vehicle that will provide investors with transparency, price discovery and risk transfer capabilities.”
CME Group will collaborate with Crypto Facilities to work on the Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR), which will represent the Bitcoin’s quotation.
Dr.Timo Schlaefer, CEO of Crypto Facilities, said: "We are excited to work with CME Group on this product and see the BRR used as the settlement mechanism of this important product. The BRR has proven to reliably and transparently reflect global bitcoin-dollar trading and has become the price reference of choice for financial institutions, trading firms and data providers worldwide.”
Earlier this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission denied a number of companies the registration of exchange traded funds based on Bitcoin due to inadequate regulation and supervision.
The activities of the CME Group are regulated by the Futures Trading Commission, which should decide on the approval (or disapproval) of trading Bitcoin futures.