The world of futures trading in Bitcoin for the traditional investor is still very new, as it only opened in December of last year when CBOE and CME launched their products to the market in what was expected to be a big boost for Bitcoin adoption. However, for those already involved in cryptocurrencies, there have been opportunities to trade Bitcoin futures — along with other cryptocurrency futures — since before the big CME and CBOE launch dates. In fact, OKEx announced its BTC, BCH and ETH futures trading on November 3, 2017. But, even with this jump on the futures …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on the listing and trading of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) until September 30, according to an official document released by the SEC August 7. ETFs are securities that track a basket of assets proportionately represented in the fund’s shares. They are seen by some as a potential step forward for the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies as a regulated and passive investment instrument. The fund under consideration is powered by investment firm VanEck and financial services company SolidX, and is expected to list on the Chicago Board of Exchange …

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will not introduce futures on cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) in the near future, CME CEO Terry Duffy revealed in an interview with Bloomberg July 26. In the interview, Duffy said that the company should first evaluate and develop an approach for Bitcoin, stressing that Bitcoin futures “might have been the most controversial launch of a product.” Duffy emphasized that altcoins futures contracts cannot be launched immediately, because they are “highly volatile and new,” and the company cannot just list products for trading in order “to see where they’re going to go.” Duffy said, “I …

July 24: Bitcoin (BTC) broke through the $8,000 price point this morning, as the top cryptocurrency continues to outperform most other crypto assets, according to data from Coin360. In the days following the strong upswing that kicked off across the crypto market on July 16 and accelerated further on July 17, Bitcoin has sustained positive momentum while other alts slid into negative territory. Market visualization from Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $8,009 to press time, up 3.9 percent on the day. The leading asset gained over $200 dollars within the space of an hour and a half this morning …

Bitcoin (BTC) futures average daily volume (ADV) at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) increased by 93 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter of 2018, the company revealed in a tweet July 20. CME also stated that the rate of open interest (OI) or the number of open contracts on Bitcoin futures has exceeded 2,400, which amounted to 58 percent increase in Q1. CME Bitcoin Futures ADV and OI in Q1 2018 and Q2 2018. Source: CMEGroup One of the biggest global exchanges, CME Group launched Bitcoin futures trading on Dec. 17, following the launch of BTC futures …

Barclays has filed two patent applications relating to the transfer of digital currency and blockchain data storage, both published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 19. The first patent describes a system for transferring digital currency from payer to recipient that would securely authenticate the identities of both, as well as validating and recording transactions using public-key cryptography and a digital currency ledger. Beyond currency transfer, the patent goes on to describe a wide range of use cases for securely and privately processing data in a trustless manner using a blockchain system. One illustration outlines how claims …

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Since their triumphant advent in the wake of the December 2017 bull run, Bitcoin futures seem to have occupied an oddly fixed position in the minds of many cryptocurrency buffs. A popular view among those who follow the dynamics of the crypto world rests on a set of established points about BTC futures: they exist since late 2017; they are offered by Cboe and CME, two respectable regulated exchanges; they help manage investment risks …

Bitcoin fell below $6,000 for the second time in a week Friday, June 29, the day CME Group’s Bitcoin futures end their last day of trading for the month. Data from Cointelegraph’s price index and Coin360.io show Bitcoin continuing a trend of declines in the run-up to futures expiration dates. At press time Friday, BTC/USD is trading around $5,850, down 4.4 percent on the day, while signalling monthly losses of over 20 percent. Major altcoins had followed suit, Ethereum (ETH) down 5.6 percent to $412 and Ripple (XRP) 6.5 percent to just under $0.43 per coin. Market visualization from Coin360 …

A patent for a system that would allow for modifications of a Blockchain protocol without a consensus from all participants of the network, originally filed by the CME Group in December 2017, has been published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last Thursday, Feb. 8. In most Blockchain-based networks, such as Bitcoin’s, modifying the protocol currently requires a network consensus that can be hard to achieve, making the system more resilient, but also harder to upgrade when needed. The Segregated Witness (SegWit) upgrade, originally designed to add transaction malleability but now focused on Bitcoin scalability, required a 95 …

Bitcoin futures prices fell this week after CME Group launched the world’s second Bitcoin futures contract on Monday. In contrast to the market’s 20 percent growth after Cboe’s pioneering futures launched on Dec. 10th, Bitcoin prices are tracking sideways and dropped almost seven percent in the 12 hours before press time Tuesday. Each CME contract represents five Bitcoins, whereas a contract on Cboe represents one Bitcoin. The first day’s trading at CME saw slightly higher volumes than day one at Cboe a week prior. Monday saw CME futures close at $19,100, 2.1 percent less than the debut price envisaged by …