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CME Group launch euro-dominated BTC and ETH futures contract

The derivatives marketplace will now be trading for Bitcoin euro and Ether euro futures contracts

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

An announcement on Monday revealed that the derivatives marketplace, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, has launched trading for Bitcoin euro and Ether euro futures contracts sized at 5 BTC and 50 ETH per contract. Both the contracts will be listed on the CME platform and will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF Bitcoin-Euro Reference Rate and CME CF Ether-Euro Reference Rate, respectively.

CME group’s global head of equity and FX products, Tim McCourt, commented, "Our new Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures will provide institutional clients, both within and outside the U.S., with more precise and regulated tools to trade and hedge exposure to the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.”

The euro-dominated ETH futures were first announced on 4 August, and it represents the investment vehicles launched before the Merge. This is a much-awaited update to the Ethereum blockchain as it converts to a proof-of-stake mechanism and is expected to come between 10 September and 20 September. 

Reports suggest that countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa account for 28 percent of all trading for BTC and ETH futures contracts. The CME group initiated its first BTC futures contract back in December 2017 and their ETH futures contract in February 2021. Furthermore, in 2022, the company expanded its offering to include micro BTC and ETH futures as well.

The launch of this euro-dominated BTC and ETH futures contracts came at a time when the euro remained at parity with the US dollar, with 1 euro worth roughly $1. 

The price of ETH is $1,509 following a rise of 3 percent in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the story is quite different for the BTC price, which has fallen below $20,000 on Sunday, a 20-month low. It has, however, rose 2 percent in the last few days to reach $20,342.

Shashank is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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