CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, announced that it plans to further expand its cryptocurrency derivatives offering by adding Micro Bitcoin Euro and Micro Ether Euro futures on March 18, pending regulatory review.
“Global investors are looking for more precise tools to manage risk as interest in Bitcoin and Ether increases. As a result, we have seen a fourfold increase in the volume of our US dollar-denominated micro Bitcoin and micro Ether futures,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. “The launch of these new Euro-denominated micro contracts will provide customers with additional products to more efficiently hedge Bitcoin and Ether exposure in the second highest traded fiat after U.S. dollar-based contracts.” Year-to-date, 24% of Bitcoin and Ether “CME Group’s futures volume is handled in the EMEA region, and we continue to develop additional tools for clients there to hedge their crypto portfolios and express or get an opinion on possible market moves.”
The Micro Bitcoin Euro and Micro Ether Euro futures contracts are designed to match their U.S. dollar-denominated counterparts and have a size of one-tenth of the respective underlying cryptocurrencies. These new futures contracts will be listed on the CME and will be subject to the rules.
“TP ICAP will support this market-defining crypto derivative from CME Group by providing block facilitation services for this product. Our global Digital Assets business has been providing price discovery and execution services for CME Group’s crypto derivatives suite since early 2020, leveraging TP ICAP’s strengths in connecting market participants as the foundation for our Digital Assets offering,” said Sam Newman, Head of Digital Assets Broking at TP ICAP. “Interest in crypto derivatives has increased tremendously worldwide in recent years, and these new euro-denominated micro futures contracts will help to further expand the accessibility and utility of crypto derivatives, particularly in Europe.”
CME Group's suite of cryptocurrency products continues to provide consistent liquidity, volume and open positions for clients looking to hedge their risk or gain exposure to the asset class. January was a record month in terms of average daily volume (71,000 contracts) across all cryptocurrency products. Additionally, the average daily open interest for Bitcoin and Ether futures reached an all-time high this month (23.5K contracts and 6K contracts, respectively). Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures also experienced a trading boom, with average daily volumes increasing by 43% compared to December 2023.
Source: CME
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