Many traders entering cryptocurrency markets from traditional finance may look to derivatives as vehicles for price speculation and hedging. There are plenty of choices when it comes to exchanges and instruments; however, traders should consider a few key differences between crypto futures and traditional futures before dipping a toe into this rapidly growing market. Related: 3 things every crypto trader should know about derivatives exchanges Different instruments Traders entering cryptocurrency from the traditional markets will be accustomed to futures contracts with a fixed expiration date. Although fixed expiration contracts can be found in cryptocurrency markets, a significant proportion of crypto …
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, …
Paris-based asset management firm Napoleon AM announced the launch of a regulated Bitcoin (BTC) fund, the Napoleon Bitcoin Fund. The company announced in a press release that the fund was created on Nov. 8 and is a specialized professional fund under French law. The company claims that its product is one of the first regulated vehicles giving exposure to Bitcoin’s price movements. The product — with daily liquidity — aims to provide portfolio diversification to institutional and professional investors. The fund replicate the performance of futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in cash settlement. High hopes for Bitcoin’s potential …
A cryptocurrency derivatives exchange led by eight former Morgan Stanley executives claims it is the world’s fastest. Phemex says its “user-oriented” approach has led to the creation of an ecosystem where traders can buy and sell contracts with confidence. The platform offers latency speeds of under one millisecond, and the company claims that its infrastructure can handle more than 300,000 transactions per second. Reliability is another crucial concern. To this end, it offers 99.9999% availability. Given that some of the more established exchanges in the marketplace have suffered outages whenever Bitcoin has made major price moves, this could prove crucial …
While cryptocurrency markets are experiencing another crash this Monday, major digital asset platform Bakkt has some good news. Referred to as one of the most promising crypto-related initiatives for its physically settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures, Bakkt has now raised an additional $300 million to continue developing digital asset-focused services, the firm’s new CEO Mike Blandina announced on March 16. Closed the funding round on March 13, Bakkt has now totally raised $482.5 million According to the announcement, the Series B financing round featured Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12, fintech firm PayU, Boston Consulting …