CME's Bitcoin Friday Futures saw 31,498 contracts traded on day one, marking the largest crypto futures launch on the exchange.
Each Bitcoin Friday Futures contract is sized at 1/50th of a Bitcoin, offering short-term exposure with weekly Friday cash settlements.
Bitcoin Friday Futures provides accessible hedging and speculation, bridging traditional finance and digital asset markets through regulated trading.
The world’s leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group, has announced the successful launch of its Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) product. Available for trading since September 29, the new crypto derivative saw a record first-day volume of 31,498 contracts traded, marking the highest trading activity for a cryptocurrency futures launch on the exchange.
https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1841144818648449524
Financial firms Galaxy and Marex executed the first block trade, signaling strong initial demand from institutional participants.
These new futures contracts are designed to offer traders and investors a more accessible, smaller-sized option for exposure to Bitcoin, allowing for both hedging and speculative strategies without holding long-term positions.
Each contract represents one-fiftieth of a Bitcoin and is cash-settled every Friday against the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY), a benchmark tied to Bitcoin's spot price.
Bitcoin Friday Futures Weekly Contracts
The Bitcoin Friday Futures contracts are introduced weekly, with listings every Thursday at the close of Wall Street trading. This structure allows market participants to trade the nearest two Fridays anytime, providing short-term exposure to Bitcoin price movements. By settling weekly, the contracts are designed to closely track Bitcoin’s spot price, offering an efficient and flexible tool for traders seeking to manage their risk in the volatile cryptocurrency market.
CME Group’s decision to size these contracts at one-fifth of a Bitcoin aims to make the product more accessible to a wider range of market participants. Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, emphasized the importance of the contracts' smaller size and weekly expiry, allowing investors to better manage their Bitcoin exposure within a regulated framework.
Bitcoin Friday Futures Launch
The Bitcoin Friday Futures contracts launch follows growing market demand for cryptocurrency derivatives. CME Group had previously introduced Bitcoin futures in 2017, catering primarily to institutional traders with a product representing five Bitcoins per contract. Introducing smaller, more frequent BFF contracts is seen as a response to evolving market conditions and the increasing adoption of Bitcoin among institutional and retail investors.
Harry Benchimol, Co-Head of Derivatives Engine at Marex, noted that the weekly contracts resemble the popular perpetuals seen on other cryptocurrency platforms, helping bridge the gap between traditional financial markets and the digital asset space. The product’s early success demonstrates growing liquidity and demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure, underscoring the ongoing maturation of cryptocurrency markets.
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