CME Group Introduces New ETH/BTC Ratio Futures

CME Group Introduces Ether/Bitcoin Ratio Futures

On June 29th, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group declared their intention to introduce Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures. The introduction of these futures contracts is planned for July 31st, pending regulatory approval.

According to the announcement, the resolution of Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures will be in cash, which is calculated by the final settlement price of CME Group’s Ether (ETH) futures divided by the final settlement price of CME Group’s Bitcoin (BTC) futures. Additionally, this new contract will follow the same listing cycle as CME Group’s Bitcoin futures and Ether futures contracts.

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s global head of cryptocurrency products, pointed to the potential for taking advantage of the different performances of Ether and Bitcoin through relative value trading. He noted that while these two assets have typically had a strong correlation, their market dynamics may now be diverging, opening up opportunities to capitalize on the discrepancies. He added:

CME Group Expands Cryptocurrency Offerings

In December 2017, CME Group took its first step into the cryptocurrency market by launching the first Bitcoin futures contract. This was followed by the introduction of an Ether futures contract in February 2021. Seeing the increasing interest in cryptocurrency investments, CME Group broadened its offerings in 2022 by introducing micro BTC and ETH futures contracts, giving traders more options to take part in these digital assets.

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On April 17, CME Group declared its intentions to extend its cryptocurrency offerings by introducing new options for standard and micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether contracts. These new contracts were planned to be accessible from May 22, subject to regulatory inspection.

The expansion provided traders with the ability to better manage short-term price risks by providing daily expiries from Monday to Friday. This was done in order to give market participants increased accuracy and adaptability in addressing the short-term price risks of Bitcoin and Ether during the heightened volatility of the digital asset sector.

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