Crypto News:CME to unveil Bite-Sized Bitcoin ‘Friday’ Futures Targeting Retail Investors
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, a leading U.S. futures exchange, announced the launch of Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF), a smaller-sized Bitcoin futures product aimed at retail investors. Set to debut on September 30, the contracts will be sized at one-50th of a Bitcoin, smaller than competing products like Coinbase’s nano Bitcoin futures, which are sold in 1/100th BTC increments.
The cash-settled BFF contracts will expire weekly, every Friday, based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY), a benchmark for Bitcoin’s spot price. Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s global head of cryptocurrency products, stated that these contracts will enable both institutional and retail traders to more accurately manage their Bitcoin exposure on a regulated exchange.
The popularity of Bitcoin futures in the U.S. continues to rise, with open interest on CME’s Bitcoin futures nearing 30,000 contracts as of August 20, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CME faces competition from platforms like Coinbase Derivatives, which offers futures for Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.
“With its smaller notional size and weekly Friday expiry, Bitcoin Friday Futures offer traders a cost-effective way to gain exposure to Bitcoin and manage portfolios,” said Tanmay Sheth, director of futures at Webull, an electronic trading platform.
Further cryptocurrency derivatives, including options, are expected to be introduced to U.S. exchanges in the near future.
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