ETHBTC futures to come on CME Group’s platform by the end of July

Updated: 03 July 2023

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With the crypto winter ending, digital asset prices have started to recover. This sparked interest among institutional investors, but the lack of regulatory clarity still makes them hesitant to engage digital assets directly. To accommodate demand, CME Group decided to provide a more familiar asset — ETHBTC futures.

Efficiently capture the relative value of ether and bitcoin in a single trade with Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures, launching July 31. https://t.co/WDFhIt5rJ7

— CME Group (@CMEGroup) June 29, 2023

According to the Group’s announcement published on June 30th, the leading financial derivatives exchange operator intends to launch ETH/BTC futures ratio.

For the time being, they are still waiting for regulatory approval. However, the Group feels confident that it will receive it in time to start trading its new offering on July 31st.

ETH/BTC futures ratio will act similarly to the gold/silver futures ratio. In other words, it will allow investors to diversify their portfolios and leverage positions.

According to the Group’s explanation, the final settlement price for CME Group’s Bitcoin futures will determine the cash settlement value for the ETH/BTC Ratio futures.

🔥 Derivatives exchange @CMEGroup is set to launch ETH/BTC ratio futures on July 31, pending regulatory approval.

This new Futures contract will provide clients with hedging capabilities and expand their investment opportunities. Stay tuned for more updates!#CME #ETH #BTC pic.twitter.com/f2xdIUEEOw

— Meta Era (@MetaEra_Media) June 30, 2023

In addition, the financial derivatives exchange operator stated that the new Ether/Bitcoin ratio would use similar expiration dates, and it would also be available for trading at the same time as BTC futures and ETH futures contracts that are already on offer.

Advantages of ETH/BTC futures ratio

CME Group’s Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, Giovanni Vicioso, spoke about the upcoming product, pointing out some advantages. He stressed that the product would have the ability to capture exposure to both cryptos in only one trade.

Apart from that, it will also be flexible when it comes to executing different trading strategies with no specific directional view. Lastly, it would be efficient and cost-effective.

CME has been involved with the crypto industry for years now, ever since it launched Bitcoin futures contracts in December 2017. Back then, the company also noticed the growing interest in digital assets, and it capitalized on it by offering new and interesting products.

In 2021, it followed up with Ethereum futures contracts, only to expand its offering again in the following year by introducing micro BTC and ETH futures in 2022.

As interest in cryptos continued to grow, the CME Group announced plans to add more crypto options on April 17th, 2023. It then introduced standard and micro-sized BTC and ETH contracts, scheduled to become available on May 22nd.

The new expansion also included daily expiries between Monday and Friday. With that, traders were able to better manage short-term price risks, which was a big strategic move on CME’s side. It allows market participants to gain access to contracts with increased flexibility and precision. Given the volatility of crypto assets, this addition was welcomed by investors.

The market seeks Bitcoin ETFs, but the SEC won’t give in

The timing of the new development is also worth noting. The crypto market is hungry for Bitcoin ETFs, but the SEC still won’t approve of a single application. Over the last few weeks, major companies submitted several ETF filings, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and several others, but the SEC once again rejected them all.

This earned it quite a bit of criticism, especially since the new round of ETFs is considered to contain the most significant breakthroughs, where all previous issues that the SEC highlighted were addressed.

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