CME CEO Says CME Will Not Introduce Altcoin Futures Anytime Soon

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) won’t present futures on cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) soon, CME CEO Terry Duffy disclosed in a meeting with Bloomberg July 26.

In the meeting, Duffy said that the company should first assess and build up an approach for Bitcoin, pointing out that Bitcoin futures “might have been the most controversial launch of a product.”

Duffy stressed that altcoins futures contracts can’t be launched instantly, on the grounds that they are “highly volatile and new,” and the organization can’t simply list items for trading in order “to see where they’re going to go.” Duffy stated,  “I will take a wait and see approach with Bitcoin for now.”

The CEO repeated the organization’s past position on launching altcoin futures, having said not long ago that listing another crypto would be “a little irresponsible right now.”

CME, one of the biggest exchanges around the world, released bitcoin futures trading on Dec. 17, seven days after BTC futures were presented by the greatest U.S. options exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

While CME is adopting a careful strategy to presenting altcoin futures, its principal rival CBOE is “definitely monitoring other markets,” CBOE’s director for product improvement Dennis O’Callahan uncovered in a meeting with Cointelegraph.  O’Callahan stated, “…we are definitely monitoring other markets to make sure that the infrastructure and everything is in place in case we want to pursue other cryptocurrencies.

A week ago, CME announced that its BTC futures average daily volume (ADV) expanded by 93 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter of 2018, while the number of open contracts on Bitcoin futures has surpassed 2,400, which added up to 58 percent expansion since Q1.