CME Group to Expand Bitcoin and Ether Option Expires After Record Daily Volume
On April 17, derivatives market Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group announced that it will expand its range of cryptocurrency options by adding new options to its standard and micro-sized Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) contracts. Pending regulatory review, these new contracts will be available from 22 May and expirations will be available every day of the working week from Monday to Friday.
According to the announcement, CME Group’s expanded suite of cryptocurrency options will include new expiration dates for Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts. These options will now expire every day from Monday to Friday, giving traders greater flexibility to manage short-term price risks. Furthermore, options on micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts will add Tuesday and Thursday expirations to their existing Monday, Wednesday and Friday contracts. The newly added expirations will complement the existing monthly and quarterly expirations already available across all Bitcoin and Ether options on futures contracts.
The move, according to CME Group, is aimed at giving market participants greater precision and versatility in managing short-term Bitcoin and Ether price risk. It also comes at a time of increased market volatility in the digital asset sector.
CME Group’s Bitcoin and Ether futures and options complex has already achieved a record daily average of more than $3 billion through Q1 2023. This means an increase in client demand for liquid hedging tools. The complex also achieved other trading highlights, including a record 11,500 contracts and open interest averaging a record 24,094 contracts for Bitcoin futures and options in Q1 2023. In addition, CME Group’s Bitcoin and Ether futures and options saw an increase in trading volume, with a record 2,357 Bitcoin options contracts traded on March 22, and a record open interest (OI) of 14,700 contracts on March 31.
Related: Bitcoin Triggers Liquidations As Analyst Says BTC Price Could Fall 12% More
CME Group introduced its first BTC futures contract in December 2017, followed by an ETH futures contract in February 2021. To meet the growing demand for cryptocurrency investment options, the exchange expanded its offerings in 2022 to include micro BTC and ETH futures. In addition, it launched euro-denominated BTC and ETH futures when the euro traded at parity with the US dollar, which is currently worth around $1 per euro at the time of writing.
As of press time, the price of ETH is at $2,085 and the price of BTC is at $29,503, falling below the previous high of $30,000.
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