CME Group is expected to further expand its cryptocurrency derivatives offering with the addition of Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures on 29 August, subject to regulatory review.
The new futures, which are designed to match their US dollar-denominated counterparts, will be sized at five bitcoin and 50 ether per contract.
CME Group said the new contracts will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin-Euro reference rate and CME CF Ether-Euro reference rate, which serve as once-a-day reference rates of the euro-denominated price of bitcoin and ether.
The Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME.
“Ongoing uncertainty in cryptocurrency markets, along with the robust growth and deep liquidity of our existing Bitcoin and Ether futures, is creating increased demand for risk management solutions by institutional investors outside the US,” said Tim McCourt, global head of equity and FX products at CME Group.
“Our Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures contracts will provide clients with more precise tools to trade and hedge exposure to the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.”
The launch follows a strong quarter from CME Group which saw average daily open interest reach a record of 106,200 contracts, alongside the second highest quarter ever in terms of average daily volume across all cryptocurrency products, with 57,400 contracts.
Elsewhere, Ether futures achieved a record average daily volume of 6,600 contracts, an increase by more than 27% compared to Q1 of this year.