CME To Launch New Ethereum (ETH) Futures In September

The world’s largest financial derivatives exchange CME Group Inc CME plans to launch Ethereum ETH/USD options in September.

What Happened: The new futures contracts will deliver one ETH futures, sized at 50 ETH per contract, CME said in a press release.

The contracts will be tradeable on the derivatives exchange on Sept. 12 and will follow the CME CF Ether-Dollar reference rate.

See Also: WHAT IS ETHEREUM?

These new options joins CME’s existing suite of crypto derivatives, including Bitcoin BTC/USD options and micro-sized BTC and ETH options. The addition was made in light of “significant growth and deep liquidity” seen in CME’s micro ETH futures which have traded more than 1.8 million contracts to date.

"As we approach the highly anticipated Ethereum Merge next month, we continue to see market participants turn to CME Group to manage ether price risk,” CME Group Global Head of Equity and FX Products Tim McCourt in a statement.

“Our new Ether options will offer a wide array of clients greater flexibility and added precision to manage their ether exposure ahead of market moving events."

The Ethereum Merge has attracted a considerable amount of interest from traders looking for an opportunity to capitalize on price action in the weeks leading up to the event.

The increased number of market participants is evidenced by the surge in open interest on ETH futures that crossed an all-time high ahead of $8 billion last week.