Heath Tarbert, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said that at some point next year we might see Ethereum futures contracts.
At the recent DC Fintech Week event, Tarbert spoke about Ethereum, saying:
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“What I want to say is that in the next six months to a year, you may see the Ethereum futures contract.”
“What kind of trading volume will the Ethereum futures contract have? I don’t know, that’s the market decision, but my guess is that now we have at least provided (Ethernet is eligible for futures contracts). More information, my guess It is for market participants to consider."
Earlier this month, the CFTC chairman said he thought Ethereum was a commodity like Bitcoin. Regarding the way this new contract is launched, Tarbert said:
“Now, most people don’t have self-certification. When they come to us, especially if they want to create a new exchange and DCO (Derivative Clearing Organization), I think it depends a lot on what you want. Who is the person who carries out such a contract. Is it one of the existing exchanges that CFTC has been working with for many years? Is it a new platform dedicated to Ethereum futures contracts?"
Then, on the issue of pricing the Ethereum futures contract, he added: "Our market work has been ensuring sufficient price transparency for the past 150 years."
Then when asked how many cryptocurrency futures contracts there would be, the CFTC chairman took a step back and said:
“As the SEC moves forward and we work with other regulators, we are likely to see more, but I can’t tell you that it will come soon, because it’s just considering Bitcoin and Ethereum. For both contracts, we spent a lot of time solving some problems."
At the end of 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) received CFTC approval for online Bitcoin futures contracts, opening the first door for mainstream investors to invest in Bitcoin.
After nearly two years, the futures contract of Ethereum, the second-largest market capitalization, is “out of the way”. In fact, as early as the end of 2018, people familiar with the matter claimed that CBOE is preparing to launch Ethereum futures and is awaiting approval from the CFTC. In July of this year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) adjusted the ETC-related reference exchange rates and indices. According to sources, this may mean that CME will launch Ethereum futures trading, and they must improve the stability of their index.
According to relevant sources, the Ethereum futures contract is an important step towards the maturity of Ethereum and may also pave the way for the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
