CME Group, a leading derivatives marketplace, today announced its plans to expand further its cryptocurrency derivatives offering with the introduction of Bitcoin and Ether futures denominated in EUR on Monday, August 29th, pending regulatory review.
Designed to match their U.S. dollar-denominated counterparts, Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures contracts will be sized at five bitcoin and 50 ether per contract.
The new contracts are cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin-Euro Reference Rate and CME CF Ether-Euro Reference Rate, which serve as once-a-day measures of the EUR-denominated price of BTC and ETH.
“Euro-denominated cryptocurrencies are the second highest traded fiat behind the U.S. dollar. Year-to-date, the EMEA region represents 28% of total Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts traded, up more than 5% versus 2021.”
– Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equity and FX Products, CME Group
In Q2, CME Group’s cryptocurrency segment saw a record average daily open interest of 106.2K contracts. It was the second highest quarter ever in average daily volume (57.4K contracts) across crypto products. Likewise, Ether futures reached a record average daily volume (6.6K contracts) in Q2, up 27% versus Q1.