CME Group is preparing to extend its selection of Bitcoin and Ether options to include both standard- and micro-sized contracts.
CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, Giovanni Vicioso, said:
We are pleased to offer these new options contracts to provide market participants with greater precision and versatility in managing short-term bitcoin and ether price risk. Against a backdrop of heightened market volatility in the digital asset sector, we continue to see clients turn to a trusted, regulated venue like CME Group for reliable and efficient cryptocurrency risk management products.
Options on Bitcoin and Ether futures will be offered with five expiration dates – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Tuesday and Thursday expiries will also be added to the existing Monday, Wednesday and Friday contracts on micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether futures. These new expiries will supplement the existing monthly and quarterly expiries available for all Bitcoin and Ether options on futures contracts.
Head of Options Trading at XBTO, Paul Eisma, said:
CME Group continues to innovate and lead in the institutional crypto options on futures market. By completing the short end of the implied volatility surface with the addition of the new Tuesday, Thursday Micro options contracts and weekly standard size contracts, institutional market makers such as XBTO can deliver precise liquidity to market participants of all sizes who trade and hedge cryptocurrency exposures spanning every business day of the upcoming week for the first time.
During the first quarter of 2023, the CME Group’s Bitcoin and Ether futures and options trading saw an all-time high in daily average value, with over three billion dollars worth of transactions. This growth reflects a greater demand from clients for reliable hedging instruments.
- Bitcoin futures and options trading activity was high, with an average of 11,500 contracts traded per day (ADV) and a record 24,094 open interest (OI) contracts.
- On March 22, a record 2,357 Bitcoin options contracts were bought and sold, and on March 31st the open interest reached an all-time high of 14,700 contracts.
- Additionally, since their launch in September 2022, more than 4,600 Ether options contracts have been traded.
- On February 22, the highest number of Ether options contracts (311) were exchanged, and on March 24th the open interest reached a record 1,800 contracts.
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