CME Group Doesn’t Plan to Introduce More Crypto Futures, Says CEO

CME Group’s CEO Terry Duffy on Thursday said the world’s largest futures exchange operator doesn’t plan to offer new cryptocurrency-related contracts, other than Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term, any time soon. The comments are in contrast to previous rumors that CME is preparing to launch Ethereum and Litecoin futures despite rival Cboe’s openness to the idea.

“In my nearly four decades in trading, Bitcoin futures might have been the most controversial launch of a product. I will not just put products up there to see where they’re going to go. I will take a wait and see approach with Bitcoin for now,” Duffy said in an interview with Bloomberg onThursday.

According to CME CEO, cryptocurrency markets are polarizing and unpredictable enough that his company is going slowly. Duffy said before he doesn't own bitcoin personally, but he believes the cryptocurrency may well change the future of finance.

“We’re not seeing huge flows regardless and that’s OK. This is going to take some time one way or another and we’ll do it the right way,” Duffy added.

Recent surge fueled by institutional interest

According to recent data provided by CME Group, however, the Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term and total volume of bitcoin futures in Q2 2018 have been in a gradual rebound. CME Bitcoin futures have experienced a 93% increase in average daily volume, while open interests also climbed by 58% over Q1 2018.

With extra regulatory safeguards, CME Group introduced Bitcoin futures in December 2017, marking a major step in the path to legitimate the cryptocurrency and helping to propel it to record highs. The venture came after the launch of Bitcoin futures pioneered by the Cboe Global Markets Inc.

The recent surge in the derivatives volumes came amid signs that institutional investors are increasingly looking at entering the cryptocurrency market. Of note, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Japanese financial holdings company Nomura and most recently SIX Group, the owner of SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX), have recently launched dedicated offerings of cryptocurrency custodianship to institutional investors.

The ventures were established to overcome barriers that have blocked institutional investment in digital assets and minimize the risk of loss due to theft or operational errors.