CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures on June 8, pending regulatory review.
Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures will be the company's first-ever market-cap weighted futures contract, and available to trade in both micro-sized and larger-sized contracts. These contracts will provide market participants with a capital-efficient way to gain exposure to the top cryptocurrencies by market cap – all through a single, financially settled futures contract.
"Building on our long-standing partnership, our new Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures will offer clients a regulated, cost-effective and convenient way to hedge or gain broad-based exposure to the overall crypto market," said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. "Demand for regulated cryptocurrency futures continues to increase, with average daily volume in our suite up 43% year-to-date. As investment in this market continues, these new futures will provide another way for investors to manage their risk."
"As investor participation in cryptocurrencies continues to evolve, there is growing demand for benchmarks that reflect the broader market and are built with the same governance and transparency investors expect in other asset classes," said Sean Wasserman, Head of Index Product Management at Nasdaq. "The Nasdaq CME Crypto Index was designed to serve as that foundation, and the introduction of futures linked to the index is a natural extension of how index-based frameworks support market development over time."
At expiration, Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures will be financially-settled to the value of the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index, which measures the performance of the largest and most actively traded cryptocurrencies, and currently includes (as of May 14) bitcoin, ether, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, and lumens.
Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME. For more information on these products, please visit https://www.cmegroup.com/nasdaqcrypto.
