CME group : To launch euro-denominated bitcoin and ether futures contracts

According to a press release earlier this month, the CME Group will launch euro-denominated bitcoin and ether futures contracts on August 29.

What is the CME group?

Founded in 1898, the exchange was originally called the Chicago Butter and Egg Board. It remained under that name until it became the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in 1919.

The CME launched its first futures contract in 1961 on frozen pork bellies. In 1969, it added financial futures and currency contracts, followed by the first interest rate, bond and futures contracts in 1972. In 2000, the exchange became the first financial exchange to “demutualize” and become a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders.

CME group refers to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; it is a futures and agricultural commodities exchange.
The exchange is owned by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group Inc, a holding company that owns several exchanges, and has a daily trading volume of about $19 million, a market capitalization of $71.4 billion and revenues of more than $4 billion according to the 2020 annual report.

Many markets are available on the exchange, including a variety of agricultural commodities such as corn, water, pork and milk futures. CME Group Inc. is listed on Nasdaq and today’s stock price can be found on websites such as Bloomberg and TradingView.

Euro-denominated cryptos are the second most traded fiat?

The world’s largest derivatives marketplace, announced on August 03 via their website that it plans to expand its cryptocurrency derivatives offering with the introduction of Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures on August 29, pending regulatory review.

The Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures contracts will be sized at five bitcoins and 50 ethers per contract. These new contracts will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin-Euro Reference Rate and the CME CF Ether-Euro Reference Rate, which serve as daily reference rates for the price of euro-denominated bitcoin and ether. These new futures contracts will be listed on CME and subject to its rules.

The release explained:

Euro-denominated cryptocurrencies are the second most traded fiat behind the US dollar. Year-to-date, EMEA accounts for 28% of total bitcoin and ether futures traded, up more than 5% from 2021.

Edmond Goh, head of trading at B2C2 added:

CME Group’s launch of Euro-denominated Bitcoin and Ether futures will help meet the growing demand for regulated and robust non-U.S. dollar-denominated crypto derivatives.