Key Takeaways
- CME's Bitcoin Friday Futures launched with 31,498 contracts traded.
- The new futures product offers short-term speculation and hedging.
- This is the most successful launch in CME's crypto futures history.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group’s new Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) launched on September 29 with a record first-day trading volume of 31,498 contracts. This makes it the “most successful crypto futures launch ever,” according to CME’s October 1 announcement.
The BFF product, cash-settled every Friday, is sized at one-50th of a Bitcoin and based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY). Contracts are listed weekly on Thursdays after Wall Street closes, giving participants the chance to speculate or hedge against short-term Bitcoin price movements.
Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME, said:
The smaller size of these contracts, along with a weekly Friday expiry, will provide investors with a more accessible way to access the Bitcoin market.
Financial firms Galaxy and Marex executed the first trade block for the product, which is designed to offer more flexibility than traditional long-term futures.
The CME introduced the BFF in response to growing demand for Bitcoin derivatives. Other offerings include Coinbase Derivatives’ futures contracts for BTC and ETH.
