Cboe Digital to Enable Margined Bitcoin and Ether Futures in January

Cboe Digital, a crypto-focused subsidiary of Cboe Global Markets, announced Monday its plans to offer trading and clearing services in margined Bitcoin and Ether futures.

Set for January 11, 2024, the launch of those products will make Cboe Digital the first U.S. regulated cryptocurrency exchange to offer a full suite of spot and derivatives trading products for Bitcoin and Ether. The exchange currently provides customers with access to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Litecoin and USDC spot trading products.

Cboe Digital plans to ‘offer financially settled margined contracts on Bitcoin and Ether’ at the beginning and to add ‘physically delivered products at a later date, subject to regulatory approvals.’ The margin model is different from traditional futures contracts in that traders only need to put up a portion of the total value of the contract as collateral when trading futures.

The coming launch is backed by several leading figures in both cryptocurrency sector and traditional finance, such as ‘B2C2, BlockFills, CQG, Cumberland DRW, Jump Trading Group, Marex, StoneX Financial, Talos, tastytrade, Trading Technologies and Wedbush,’ as noted in the press release.

Cboe Digital is committed to providing its customers with a safe and secure trading environment. The exchange uses a variety of security measures to protect its customers’ funds, including two-factor authentication, cold storage, and DDoS protection. It is also a member of the Blockchain Transparency Institute and has been audited by leading security firms.