Ethereum rose 7.5% today, and CME Group is preparing for Ethereum futures.

According to The Block, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is expected to change the Ethereum-related reference rates and indices on July 15. The source said that this could mean that an encryption-related futures will enter the market.

Specifically, the CME side will add the platform data of the crypto exchange itBit to the reference index, and together with the current data of the two major trading platforms of Bitstamp and Kraken, provide data support for CME.

According to public information, itBit is headquartered in New York and it also has an international office in Singapore. ItBit has received the charter of the trust company issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services as early as 2015. The US dollar funds of its platform will be deposited in the account guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. ItBit has become an unclear environment in the early stage of supervision. In the case of a digital currency exchange that has obtained regulatory approval.

According to The Block report, according to sources, the addition of itBit may indicate that the CME exchange is preparing for the launch of futures linked to the second largest cryptocurrency ETH. The Ethereum reference index adjustment is intended to improve the robustness of its index. Because, if there is no reliable data to support, cash-settled futures products are very easy to operate or simply cannot represent the actual price of the underlying assets.

• Will the next bull market be "epic-like"? 7 major factors may become "pushing hands"
• Huang Butian released an open letter, revealing three important directions after the VNT Chain main online line
• Use the Crypto.com scan code payment function to enjoy the consumption of world-renowned merchants and improve the practicality of CRO

According to Coindesk's earlier report, a senior official of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that after seeking market feedback last year, it intends to approve an Ethereum futures contract, provided that the contract meets all the conditions. However, the CFTC will only respond to specific applications submitted to the regulatory body and will not take the initiative to provide comments.

If such a product is filed and approved, the regulated futures product will be open to Ethereum to attract a wide range of institutional investments. This may also be the reason why CME has taken the initiative to adjust the Ethereum index and the reference interest rate, which is regarded as one of the reasons for preparing for the Ethereum futures contract.

Similar to the bitcoin futures that are currently online, Ethereum futures refers to standardized contracts based on the ETH price index. However, it is clear that the Ethereum futures road has become more bumpy than the cash-settled bitcoin futures that were introduced at the end of 2017.

Earlier in December 2017, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CME launched cash-settled bitcoin futures, but in March this year, CBOE announced that it will no longer launch new bitcoin futures contracts, the last one. The Bitcoin futures contract also expired in June this year.

In contrast to the “CBOE call to stop bitcoin futures”, the trading volume of the CME bitcoin futures market and the willingness to invest in the market have risen significantly. According to Coindesk, the latest data from the CME derivatives market shows that Bitcoin futures only created more than 950 new trading accounts in 2019, and the total number of customer registrations increased by 30%. The open interest of BTC futures has been steadily rising. A record 6,069 contracts were reached as of the end of June, indicating strong demand. According to Finance Magnates, CBOE spokesperson Suzanne Cosgrove said in June that it is evaluating plans to restart the Bitcoin futures market.

As early as August 30, 2018, as the first CBOE to introduce bitcoin futures, it was planned to launch Ethereum futures at the end of 2018. However, with the debut of bitcoin futures, Ethereum futures are no longer available. On December 12 last year, according to Bloomberg News, because an exchange operator is seeking to list futures products based on Ethereum, the CFTC conducted a 60-day consultation on the Ethereum public search for cryptocurrency technology. , market and mechanism information.

The CFTC stated that the information obtained will help guide the work of the CFTC, including the evaluation of potential derivatives contracts. The legality of the market will be enhanced to ensure the integrity of the derivatives market and to monitor and reduce systemic risks.

When the focus on bitcoin futures products has shifted from cash-settled bitcoin futures to physical-delivered bitcoin futures, Ethereum is only somewhat relieved from the controversy over whether Ethereum is a securities or not, from Bitcoin futures. More than a year after the listing, Ethereum futures products settled in cash have not yet been released.

Previously, the long-standing risks of Ethereum futures disputes, such as high leverage of encryption derivatives, excessive price volatility, regulatory issues, technical loopholes, and transparency of funds, do not seem to be effectively resolved. Program.

However, with the positioning of Ethereum becoming clearer, the market is getting warmer, and the market investment demand is also gradually increasing. Ethereum futures are returning to the public. Coupled with the recent progress of 2.0 key nodes in Ethereum, the beacon chain will be released in January 2020.

Affected by this, Ethereum has seen a significant increase in the past two days. Today it broke through US$300 again. As of press time, it was temporarily reported at US$309.68, and the 24h rose to 7.4%.

We will continue to update Blocking; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!