Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money.  Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, created and held electronically. Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros.  Bitcoins are ‘mined’, using computing power in a distributed network.

What Do Bitcoin Futures Do?

Trading Bitcoin futures provides a way for you to buy and sell bitcoin futures in a regulated marketplace nearly 24 hours a day, five days per week. This gives you the flexibility to trade Bitcoin when you want.  Bitcoin trading will be conducted by the CBOE and CME.  

• •    CBOE Bitcoin Futures contract XBT will represent 1 bitcoin per contract.
• •    CME Bitcoin Futures contract BTC will represent 5 bitcoin per contract.  

Bitcoin futures allow customers to fix a set price at which they would like to sell or buy a certain quantity of the cryptocurrency at a fixed time in the future. This creates a leveraged position by increasing exposure to the asset while only posting collateral, but it also increases exposure to potential losses.

Bitcoin Futures allow an investor to get exposure to Bitcoin price moves without actually holding Bitcoins.

Futures provides traders with the opportunity to buy, sell and trade bitcoin futures.  A bitcoin future will allow investors to bet on the future price of bitcoin without having to actually hold the coin itself.  Traders who buy or sell bitcoin futures don't have to worry about actually holding the cryptocurrency itself.

CONTACT US FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON TRADING BITCOIN.  We can answer questions and keep you informed when futures trading will be available for our retail clients.

Bitcoin Regulatory Advisory

Cboe XBT Bitcoin Futures

Ticker Symbol:
Futures Symbol – XBT
Contract Name:  Cboe Bitcoin (USD) Futures

Minimum Price Intervals:
10.00 points USD to XBT (equal to $10.00 per contract).

Planned Listing Date: December 10, 2017

Margin: Initial Margin 38%
Maintenance Margin: 35%

(subject to change)

Description:

Cboe Bitcoin (USD) futures are cash-settled futures contracts that are based on the Gemini auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars.

Contract Multiplier:

The contract multiplier for the XBT futures contract is 1 bitcoin.

Contract Expirations: The trading hours for an expiring XBT futures contract end at 2:45 p.m. on its Final Settlement Date.  The Exchange may list for trading up to four near-term expiration weeks (“weekly” contracts), three near-term serial months (“serial” contracts), and three months on the March quarterly cycle (“quarterly” contracts).

Trading Hours:

Delivery:

Settlement of XBT futures contracts will result in the delivery of a cash settlement amount on the business day immediately following the Final Settlement Date. The cash settlement amount on the Final Settlement Date shall be the final mark to market amount against the Final Settlement Value of the XBT futures contract.

CME Group Bitcoin Futures

• •    The Cboe futures exchange will halt trading in its bitcoin contract for 2 minutes if the best bid in the XBT futures contract closest to expiration is 10 percent or more above or below the daily settlement price of that contract on the prior business day.  Once trading resumes, if the best bid in the XBT futures contract closest to expiration is 20 percent or more above or below the daily settlement price of that contract on the prior business day, the futures will be halted for 5 minutes.
• •    The CME futures exchange will apply price limits, also known as circuit breakers, to its bitcoin futures of 7 percent, 13 percent, and 20 percent to the futures fixing price. Trading will not be allowed outside of the 20 percent price limit.

• •    Cboe expects to have four weekly contracts, three near-term serial months, and three months on the March quarterly cycle.
• •    CME expects to list monthly contracts for the nearest two months in the March quarterly cycle (March, June, Sept., Dec.) plus the nearest two serial months not in the March quarterly cycle.