CME Reveals An Insight Into The Functioning Of Its Upcoming Bitcoin Futures

CME Group sent the Bitcoin price skyrocketing last week following their announcement of launching Bitcoin futures by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal which can be a stepping stone of bringing this volatile cryptocurrency under the purview of legalisation. This announcement did manage to create the right kind of noise in Wall Street as the price of Bitcoins climbed up the ladder to $7000 on November 7^th from $6100 on 30^th October which was one day prior to this ground-breaking announcement.

Also Read: Chairman of CME Identifies Bitcoin As An Exclusive Asset Class

Futures refers to a mechanism whereby two parties can exchange an asset at a stipulated date and time and have been operational since the late 19th century. The buyer of the contract can settle for the product itself such as oil barrels or liquid cash when the future contract comes to an end. Bitcoin futures to be settled across CME’s platform shall rely on cash as the medium of transaction. With future trading all set to hike up the excitement level of crypto world, CME has come out with a guideline concerning the operation of these bitcoin futures as mentioned below:

• ->Every contract shall constitute of Five bitcoins
• ->Maximum of 1000 contracts can hold the spot position. The number of contracts owned by an entity or a person is limited in futures contracts thus preventing someone from being able to “corner the market.”
• ->CME ClearPort and CME Globex shall host Bitcoin futures trading from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT Sunday to Friday. Such long trading hours are an inherent characteristic of electronically traded futures contracts.
• ->The minimum fluctuation amount has been settled at $5 per Bitcoin and $25 per contract. Thus the trader stands a chance of winning or losing $25 per contract held with the smallest incremental movement.
• ->A price limit of 20% more or less than the prior settlement price shall be allowable to Bitcoin futures.
• ->Bitcoin Reference Rate or daily reference rate of one Bitcoin in US dollar taken at 4:00 p.m. London time shall be taken as the yardstick to gauge price settlement.

Leo Melamed, the chairman emeritus of CME Group feels that Bitcoin holds the potential of being treated as an exclusive asset class much like gold and stock.

During an interview conducted on Tuesday, the CME top boss said that Bitcoins shall follow the footsteps of yellow metal and stock in its own trading operations. The futures launch by CME is still subject to approval by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Melamed is however confident that institutional investors shall participate in the future contracts which is going to be a “very important step for bitcoin’s history.”

It shall enable investors to short-sell the cryptocurrency as well as bet on bitcoin. He added that, “we will regulate, make bitcoin not wild, nor wilder. We’ll tame it into a regular type instrument of trade with rules.” However Melamed was not a firm believer of cryptocurrencies during its initial days. But that doesn’t change the fact that Melamed is, “still that same guy who believes in, at least examining change.”

Also Read: After CME, Argentina To Launch Bitcoin Futures

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