CME Launches Mini Contract Bitcoin Friday Futures to Attract Retail Traders
The post CME Launches Mini Contract Bitcoin Friday Futures to Attract Retail Traders appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The CME has launched an even smaller Bitcoin futures contract to help cushion the effect of Bitcoin’s increasing price for retail traders. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has launched a mini-Bitcoin futures contract aimed at inclusiveness for retail investors. Termed the Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF), the contract will become available for trade on September 30, depending on regulatory review and approval. The exchange will price the new contract at a fiftieth quarter of one Bitcoin, allowing small-scale investors to stay in the market despite the asset’s growing price. Furthermore, the contracts will be listed on CME at the close of the Thursday New York market session ahead of the trading session on Friday. The weekly contract will be a cash settlement determined by the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BBRNY) at the close of the New York trading sessions on Friday. This is to accurately track Bitcoin’s spot price and prevent investors’ exposure to the asset’s weekend price movement. A Market for Everyone Notably, the CME had launched a similar product in 2021. The Bitcoin and Ethereum micro versions offered contracts to retail traders sized at one-20th of the assets. The fund didn’t gain traction until this year when the contract’s usage surged by a staggering 200% from 2023. Despite its prowess, Bitcoin’s growing price has made the contract expensive for retail traders by the day, defeating its aim. Bitcoin has rallied over 135% year-over-year and more than 30% since the start of 2024. The asset’s impressive performance has allowed large traders to have their way by continually outpricing retailers in the options market. Giovanni Viciosos, CME Group’s Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, noted that introducing a small-scale contract like the BFF will make them more attractive to retail traders. He said that size was the driving…
Filed under: News - @ August 27, 2024 5:25 pm