On June 29th, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced its plans to introduce the Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures contract. The launch of these futures contracts is expected on July 31st, subject to regulatory review.
According to the announcement, the settlement of the Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures contract will be in cash, based on the final settlement price of CME Group’s Ether futures divided by the final settlement price of CME Group’s Bitcoin futures. Additionally, this new contract will follow the same listing cycle observed in CME Group’s Bitcoin futures and Ether futures contracts.
Giovanni Vicioso, the global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group, has emphasized the potential for trading opportunities based on the relative value between Ether and Bitcoin. Vicioso highlights that although these two assets have had a high correlation in the past, their market dynamics can now change, allowing us to leverage the performance differences between them.
CME Group made its first breakthrough into the cryptocurrency market by introducing the first Bitcoin futures contract in December 2017. This was followed by the introduction of Ether futures contract in February 2021. Recognizing the increasing demand for cryptocurrency investment opportunities, CME Group continued to expand the market in 2022 by introducing BTC and ETH macro futures contracts, providing traders with additional options to participate in these digital assets.