CME Asks CFTC to Double Bitcoin Futures Capacity as Interest Soars

Published at: Sept. 13, 2019

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is petitioning United States regulators to allow its clients to double their open Bitcoin futures positions.

Double open positions limit, says CME

According to Nasdaq on Sept. 12, CME has already put its plans before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

If successful, each investor would gain a monthly limit of 2,000 contracts per spot month instead of the current 1,000. 

The move comes on the back of constant growth in demand for Bitcoin futures, with CME’s volumes setting new records on a regular basis. 

As Nasdaq notes, the CFTC officially states that lower-risk trading instruments are not subject to limits. Therefore, an agreement to lessen the strict controls for CME could be construed as the regulator having more faith in Bitcoin (BTC) options than before. 

“This is one more way we’re providing customers, institutional traders and end-users with additional flexibility to trade and hedge bitcoin price risk,” a spokesperson told the publication. 

March of the Bitcoin futures contracts

CME was one of the first Bitcoin futures operators, launching its product in December 2017. Since then, the market has expanded, with the second half of this year set to see a significant increase in overall interest. 

Later in September, Bakkt, the regulated trading ecosystem for institutional investors, will launch physical Bitcoin futures, which pay out returns in BTC instead of fiat currency. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is currently testing two potential futures trading platforms.

Tags
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Futures
Cftc
Cme
Related Posts
US Bitcoin Derivatives Market, Highlights of 2019
The United States Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives market witnessed a slew of developments in 2019 as “old players” set trading volume records and “new players” introduced novel market products. After months of regulatory maneuvering, Bakkt finally launched and has gone on to post record Bitcoin futures trading volumes. Several platforms have also obtained Swap Execution Facility licenses from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the crypto derivatives arena in the country expanded throughout 2019. One of the 19 CFTC-licensed platforms, Tassat, said the approval is a preliminary step to the company listing physically settled Bitcoin derivatives for institutional clients. Overall, …
Bitcoin / Dec. 27, 2019
JPMorgan Chase Analysts Say Prolonged Crypto Bear Market Is Scaring Off Institutions
Analysts from global investment bank JPMorgan Chase believe that the protracted crypto bear market is driving away institutional investors, Bloomberg reports on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Analysts from JPMorgan, along with global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, have reportedly stated that involvement of institutional investors in Bitcoin (BTC) “appears to be fading.” In a jointly released research note, analysts have concluded that “key flow metrics have downshifted dramatically,” including a decline in the Bitcoin futures market. The experts reportedly noted the decreasing index of open interest (OI) — the amount of open contracts on Bitcoin futures — on the Chicago Board Options …
Bitcoin / Dec. 18, 2018
CME Micro Bitcoin futures surpass 1M contracts as institutional speculation grows
Institutional exposure to cryptocurrencies via derivatives continued to grow in the second quarter, as CME Group’s newly launched Bitcoin (BTC) micro contract received considerable uptick in its first two months of trading. Since launching on May 3, CME’s Micro Bitcoin futures contract has already surpassed 1 million contracts traded, the Chicago-based derivatives market announced earlier this week. CME executive Tim McCourt said the new product has been popular among institutions and day traders seeking to hedge their spot Bitcoin price risk. Denominated at 0.1 BTC, the micro contract is one-tenth the size of one Bitcoin. By comparison, CME’s main Bitcoin …
Bitcoin / June 27, 2021
Study finds CME drives Bitcoin price, but it excludes stablecoin volumes
On Oct. 14, Wilshire Phoenix investment firm released its Efficient Price Discovery report, which detailed how CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures impact Bitcoin price discovery. The firm concluded that "CME Bitcoin futures contribute more to price discovery than its related spot markets." And the researchers also suggested that: "CME Bitcoin futures have grown to become significant, this is not only demonstrated through trading volume and open interest, but also by influence on spot price formation." Wilshire's analysis correctly states that price discovery in traditional markets is a contested topic. The report also adds that studies on price formation often find that …
Bitcoin / Oct. 20, 2020
CME Bitcoin futures numbers saw a 57% uptick in January
Bitcoin’s price rose significantly in January. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, also hit record Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading numbers in the same month. “In January, BTC average daily volume (ADV) reached a monthly record of 17,549 contracts (87.7K equivalent bitcoin),” a CME representative told Cointelegraph. Each CME Bitcoin futures contract is worth the value of 5 BTC paid out in dollars. “In December 2020, BTC average daily volume (ADV) reached 11,179 contracts (55.9K equivalent bitcoin),” the representative added. “This represents a +57% increase.” In January, Bitcoin rose from $30,000 up to almost $42,000, according to TradingView data. The month …
Bitcoin / Feb. 24, 2021