BITCOIN has taken another step towards financial respectability. Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets launched a futures market for the cryptocurrency on Monday.
Futures are a financial instrument that let traders bet on the future price of something. Commodity traders use them to limit the risks of buying or selling things like oil or metals and allow more sophisticated trading strategies.
Trading had to be halted twice as demand surged after the bitcoin futures market launched. Bets on bitcoin鈥檚 price one month from now started at $15,460, rose to $18,700 and ended at $17,800 when trading closed. The price of bitcoin itself was at $16,200, suggesting investors see a rosy future for the currency, which has soared in value in recent weeks.
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鈥淚t is rare that you see something more volatile than bitcoin, but we found it: bitcoin futures,鈥� Zennon Kapron of Shanghai-based consulting firm Kapronasia told Bloomberg.
Nearly 4000 futures contracts swapped hands on the first day of trading, although trading volumes fell on Tuesday as the market calmed. Other exchanges are expected to launch their own bitcoin futures markets in the coming months.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淏etting on bitcoin鈥�
