CBOE Holdings and Gemini Trust Company today announced an agreement that will provide Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and its affiliates with an exclusive global license to use Gemini’s bitcoin market data for bitcoin derivatives and indices. The news comes as LedgerX was approved last month as a SEF and DCO for bitcoin and other related digital currency swaps.
The Winklevoss twins, Cameron, and Tyler who own Gemini Trust Company are sure to be happy about the partnership as the deal could provide more impetus for the SEC to eventually support Bitcoin ETFs in the future, the Winklevoss bitcoin-based ‘COIN ETF’ was denied approval by the SEC back in March.
Under the terms of this agreement, CBOE will have a multi-year exclusive global license permitting it to use Gemini’s market data, including Gemini daily bitcoin auction values, in the creation of bitcoin derivatives products for listing and trading.
Pending regulatory review by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), cash-settled bitcoin futures are planned to be made available for trading on CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) by the fourth quarter of 2017.
Further, CBOE will retain exclusive rights to use Gemini market data for the creation of new indexes, as well as rights to distribute Gemini market data over CBOE’s market data feeds.
Ed Tilly, CBOE Holdings Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer said:
“CBOE is not only a home to options, derivatives, and the VIX but also ETF innovations and foreign exchange. This makes us the natural choice for the development and trading of bitcoin futures. We very much look forward to responding to the growing interest in cryptocurrencies through the creation of bitcoin futures traded on a regulated derivatives exchange, with the many expected benefits that this brings, including transparency, price discovery, deep liquidity and centralized clearing.”
“Gemini has demonstrated time and again its foresight and expertise in this area of finance. The team’s focus and determination to grow the bitcoin market and secure appropriate regulatory oversight as a New York trust company make them ideal for this venture. We are incredibly proud of this agreement and look forward to all that we can achieve together.”
Tyler Winklevoss, Chief Executive Officer of Gemini added:
“Gemini’s key concerns in the cryptocurrency ecosystem have always been security, compliance, and regulatory oversight. By working with the team at CBOE, we are helping to make bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies increasingly accessible to both retail and institutional investors.”
Over the last five years, the total value of all bitcoin outstanding (i.e., market capitalization) has grown from less than $1 billion to nearly $50 billion. The total value of all cryptocurrency tokens outstanding is now approximately $100 billion.