The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has decided to halt the addition of Bitcoin futures in the market in March.
The exchange, in a March 14 announcement, explained that it is re-evaluating the approach towards the trading of digital assets.
“CFE is not adding a Cboe Bitcoin (USD) (“XBT”) futures contract for trading in March 2019. CFE is assessing its approach with respect to how it plans to continue to offer digital asset derivatives for trading. While it considers its next steps, CFE does not currently intend to list additional XBT futures contracts for trading,” CBOE noted.
“Currently listed XBT futures contracts remain available for trading,” the exchange added.
However, it is to be noted that the currently available BTC futures - XBTM19 - will expire in the coming June.
The Boom and the Bust
The Chicago-based stock exchange became the first to introduce Bitcoin futures in the market. The crypto community whole-heartedly welcomed the move as the value of Bitcoin touched its peak at around $20,000 after the listing. CBOE’s rival exchange, the CME Group, also followed suit to introduce a similar product within a week.
Despite the enthusiasm in the market, the boom was short-lived as the digital asset prices started to plunge from the next month. Since then, Bitcoin has lost 80 percent of its value and, as of press time, is trading around $3,930, according to Coinmarketcap.com.
>Bitcoin topped when BTC futures were added >BTC has been going down ever since >CBOE is delisting BTC >??????? >Profit https://t.co/wVDROTcKXy
— DonAlt (@CryptoDonAlt) March 14, 2019
Declining Trading Volume
Last month, a market report revealed that the volume of Bitcoin futures trading is sharply going down since mid-2018. Data pooled from CBOE and the CME Group also showed that the digital asset futures market witnessed the least trading volume in last December since its launch.
Moreover, the report also showed that CBOE has significantly lost its BTC futures market share to its rival the CME Group.
Despite the declining volume, a recent Finance Magnates report revealed that the market is betting big on futures instruments.
