CME Group Expands Bitcoin Options: Daily Expiries, Smaller Contracts

CME Group to Launch Bitcoin Friday Futures with Options in February

CME Group announced it will launch in February options on Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) pending regulatory approval. These new contracts will be financially settled and expire every day of the business week, Monday to Friday.

According to the press release, BFF was CME Group’s most successful cryptocurrency launch. More than 775,000 contracts traded since launch on Sept. 29. The average daily volume was 9,700 contracts and 44% of contracts were traded during non-U.S. hours. One contract is worth one-50th of one BTC with BFF racking up $1.63 billion in volume since launch.

These financially settled contracts will expire every day of the business week, Monday through Friday, providing traders with more risk management tools.

According to Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, these contracts will see smaller contract sizes and daily expiries and offer investors a more efficient toolset to adjust Bitcoin exposure.

"We are pleased to offer these new options that provide traders with even greater precision to manage short-term Bitcoin price risk, building on the success of our Bitcoin Friday futures, the smaller size of these contracts, along with daily expiries, offer market participants a capital-efficient toolset to effectively adjust their Bitcoin exposure."

China Declares Crypto Futures Trading Illegal Gambling in Major Ruling

The People’s Court of Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, has classified futures trading on a crypto exchange as gambling.

The ruling has resulted in the conviction of several BKEX exchange employees and external promoters as accomplices in the crime of opening a casino. However, most of the sentences were ultimately suspended.

The BKEX exchange, founded in 2018 by Ji Jiaming, is central to the case. Wu Blockchain, citing recently published criminal judgments, reported that Ji Jiaming is on the run.

BKEX exchange was initially established under Chengdu Dechen BiKe TianXia Technology Co., Ltd., facilitating cryptocurrency spot trading, which later expanded into futures trading. Specifically, between July 2019 and January 2022, the company changed its registered name multiple times during its eventual dissolution