CME Group plans to launch Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures on July 31
International derivatives marketplace CME Group today announced plans to launch Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures on July 31, pending regulatory review.
“Historically, ether and bitcoin have been highly correlated; however, as the two assets have grown over time, market dynamics may affect the performance of one more than the other, creating relative value trading opportunities,” said Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products. “With the addition of Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures, investors will be able to capture ether and bitcoin exposure in a single trade, without needing to take a directional view. This new contract will help create opportunities for a broad array of clients looking to hedge positions or execute other trading strategies, all in an efficient, cost-effective manner.”
The Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures will be cash-settled to the value of CME Group Ether futures final settlement price, divided by the corresponding CME Group Bitcoin futures final settlement price. The new contract will follow the same listing cycle as CME Group Bitcoin futures and Ether futures contracts.
“The launch of Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures completes the currency triangle allowing market makers such as XBTO the ability to arbitrage synthetically, for the first time, all three futures legs: the BTC/USD and ETH/USD dollar legs, and the ETH/BTC cross,” said Paul Eisma, Head of Options Trading at XBTO. “CME Group’s innovative, regulated product will help increase volumes, reduce spreads, and give institutional crypto market participants a vehicle to express relative value between BTC and ETH.”
“This new ETH/BTC cross-cryptocurrency contract from CME Group should allow investors more flexibility when hedging positions in non-dollar offshore markets,” said Brooks Dudley of Marex Capital Markets, Inc. “This marks another important advancement for CFTC-regulated cryptocurrency derivatives.”