Bitcoin Futures? You Won’t Believe Cboe’s Latest Rollercoaster Move!

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Cboe Global Markets is boldly venturing into the digital wild with its spanking new Bitcoin futures product—pending, of course, the nod from the regulatory overlords. Apparently, if the bureaucrats are in a good mood, we’re in for a treat later this month! 😏

On April 7, in a press release that was almost as exciting as finding a forgotten tenner in your coat, the exchange unveiled what they cheekily call the Cboe FTSE Bitcoin (BTC) Index Futures. Scheduled to burst onto the trading scene on April 28, this product uses an FTSE Bitcoin Index that’s been trimmed down to a mere tenth of its value—because why settle for full size when you can have fun in miniature?

Trading under the XBTF ticker, these futures are set to settle on the last business day of each month, giving traders the illusion of taming Bitcoin without ever having to hold the actual beast. It’s like getting a digital pet without the pesky barking! And, of course, this nifty tool plays nicely with their recently launched options linked to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Together, these instruments expand the crypto arsenal for those eager to hedge their bets or concoct elaborate digital strategies, as Cboe’s global head of derivatives, Catherine Clay, cheerfully proclaimed. It seems the ever-energetic world of digital assets just got even zanier! 🤓

“This launch comes at a pivotal time as demand for crypto exposure continues to grow and market participants are increasingly seeking more capital-efficient and versatile ways to gain and manage that exposure.”

Catherine Clay, Global head of derivatives at Cboe

The index powering this new product was whipped up by the brainiacs at FTSE Russell in cahoots with Digital Asset Research. It’s designed to follow Bitcoin’s price with surgical precision, using strict criteria for which exchanges and data sources are invited to the party. Talk about a system that knows how to keep boring benchmarks at bay!

This move dovetails perfectly with Cboe’s relentless enthusiasm for digital asset products, including the debut of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs and the recent drop of Bitcoin ETF index options in both standard and mini sizes. With March registering a record-shattering average of 18.8 million options contracts traded daily, Cboe is clearly riding a high wave of exuberant numbers.

And if you love a bit of extra numerical razzle-dazzle, their S&P 500 contracts and proprietary index options hit a new monthly average daily volume of 3.9 million contracts, while a single-day SPX trading record of 4.8 million contracts on March 10 left onlookers both bemused and impressed. Who knew numbers could be this entertaining? 😂

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2025-04-08 07:17