CME Announces Launch Of Euro-denominated Crypto Futures

• Commodity exchange CME will launch futures contracts for BTC and ETH in euros from August 29
• The size of the Bitcoin futures will be 5 coins; the Ethereum contract will be 50 ETH.
• CME is the 4th largest Bitcoin futures exchange with 1.6% of the $11.8B global open interest.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group Inc.) is preparing to launch euro-denominated bitcoin and ether futures contracts. These operations should accelerate the process of institutionalization of the cryptocurrency market. The company is now awaiting final regulatory approval.

According to available information, the exchange intends to issue contracts on August 29th. Settlements will be made in cash using the CME CF Bitcoin-Euro and CME CF Ethereum-Euro reference rates. In 2017, the derivatives giant launched dollar-denominated bitcoin futures. Four years later, similar contracts for Ethereum were released to the market.

The company clarified that the size of Bitcoin futures would be 5 BTC. If we talk about crypto contracts on Ethereum, this indicator is fixed at around 50 ETH.

“Our bitcoin-euro and ethereum-euro futures contracts will provide clients with more accurate tools to trade and hedge risks associated with the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap , ” CME said in a statement.

New contracts are emerging amid high volatility in the digital asset industry. The crypto winter led to the fact that bitcoin fell by about 50% in a year. At the same time, Ethereum dropped by approximately 55%. This made investors turn their attention to the crypto futures market.

CME Group is considered one of the most prominent players in the derivatives market. The company is the 4th largest Bitcoin futures exchange. It accounts for 1.6% of global open interest, which currently stands at $11.8 billion.