CME Group to Launch Options on Bitcoin Friday Futures

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group has announced the launch of options on Bitcoin Friday futures on February 24, 2025, pending regulatory review. These will be CME's first financially-settled cryptocurrency options with daily expiries Monday through Friday.

The new options complement CME's existing physically-settled options suite and build upon the success of Bitcoin Friday futures, which has traded over 775,000 contracts since its September 29 launch, with an average daily volume of 9,700 contracts. Notably, 44% of contracts are traded during non-U.S. hours.

Industry leaders from FalconX and Galaxy have praised the introduction, highlighting the products' importance for risk management and hedging in the cryptocurrency market. The new options are designed to provide traders with greater precision in managing short-term bitcoin price risk through a capital-efficient toolset.

Positive

• Launch of new financially-settled Bitcoin options product expanding CME's crypto derivatives offering
• Strong performance of Bitcoin Friday futures with 775,000 contracts traded
• High average daily volume of 9,700 contracts showing strong market adoption
• Global market reach with 44% of trading during non-U.S. hours

Negative

• None.

News Market Reaction

-0.81%

1 alert

-0.81% News Effect

On the day this news was published, CME declined 0.81%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced it will introduce options on Bitcoin Friday futures on February 24, pending regulatory review.

These new contracts will be the first CME Group cryptocurrency options to be financially-settled, with expiries available every day of the business week, Monday through Friday.

"We are pleased to offer these new options that provide traders with even greater precision to manage short-term bitcoin price risk," said Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products. "Building on the success of our Bitcoin Friday futures, the smaller size of these contracts, along with daily expiries, offer market participants a capital-efficient toolset to effectively adjust their bitcoin exposure."

Financially-settled options on Bitcoin Friday futures will complement CME Group's existing suite of physically-settled options on Bitcoin, Ether, Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures, providing additional risk management flexibility to investors.

"Given the increasing density of tradable catalysts in crypto, CME Group's new option suite on Bitcoin Friday futures provides the granularity that market participants need for hedging and expressing nuanced views on Bitcoin," said Joshua Lim, Global Co-head of Markets, FalconX.

"As a major liquidity provider in the digital asset derivatives space, we see CME Group's introduction of options on Bitcoin Friday futures as a timely, important addition to the market," said Jason Urban, Global Head of Trading at Galaxy. "These contracts offer a flexible and cost-effective way for our trading desk to optimize risk management and provide tailored solutions to our counterparties navigating bitcoin price volatility."

Bitcoin Friday futures have become CME Group's most successful cryptocurrency product launch. Trading highlights include:

• More than 775,000 contracts traded since launch on September 29
• Average daily volume of 9,700 contracts
• 44% of contracts traded during non-U.S. hours

For more information on these products, please visit: cmegroup.com/bff.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

CME-G

 

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

When will CME Group launch options on Bitcoin Friday futures?

CME Group will launch options on Bitcoin Friday futures on February 24, 2025, pending regulatory review.

What is the average daily trading volume for CME's Bitcoin Friday futures?

The average daily trading volume for CME's Bitcoin Friday futures is 9,700 contracts.

How many Bitcoin Friday futures contracts has CME traded since launch?

CME has traded more than 775,000 Bitcoin Friday futures contracts since its launch on September 29.

What percentage of CME's Bitcoin Friday futures are traded during non-U.S. hours?

44% of CME's Bitcoin Friday futures contracts are traded during non-U.S. hours.

How are CME's new Bitcoin Friday options different from existing crypto options?

These will be CME Group's first financially-settled cryptocurrency options, with expiries available every business day Monday through Friday, unlike their existing physically-settled options.