Bitcoin options and cash settled futures contracts are now active on the Bakkt cryptocurrency exchange.
Just over three months after the launch of its Bitcoin-based product, the Bakkt cryptocurrency futures exchange is expanding its product offering with the launch of monthly Bitcoin options regulated by the CFTC and cash-settled futures contracts. The announcement came in a blog post published by COO, Adam White, on Monday 9 December.
Adam White of Bakkt, who launched his monthly Bitcoin futures offering in September, said that "we have a reference contract that provides us with the basis for developing complementary products based on the needs of our customers."
And indeed, Bakkt's monthly options are described in the post as "the first CFTC regulated option on the Bitcoin futures contract", this contract is based on the reference Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Monthly Futures contract and is established in the futures contract below two expiration days on ICE Futures ”.
The post also explains that Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) cash settlement futures are “available on ICE Futures Singapore, an approved exchange in Singapore that offers participants in Asia and abroad a convenient and capital efficient way to earn. or cover Bitcoin exposure. "
CoinDesk reported that although any ICE client can negotiate these contracts, the fact that they are offered through the Singaporean exchange branch seems to suggest a focus on bringing capital to Asian markets.
Comparison of Bakkt's expansion strategy with that of the ICE
In the post, White compared Bakkt's expansion strategy with that of its parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Citing the availability of "hundreds" of oil contracts on a number of different types of tradable assets, White said that "these additional contracts provided market operators with prices and risk management to meet the negotiation and hedging needs of producers. , consumers, traders and institutions ".
"At Bakkt, our mission is to offer trust and usefulness to digital resources," he says in the blog post. "These new contracts represent an important milestone in the development of this emerging asset class and our Bitcoin product complex."
The BTC derivatives market is heating up
When Bakkt was launched in September, the platform's initial trading volume was less than many expected. However, the volume of trades on the platform has increased slowly and steadily.
Bakkt's latest announcement comes about a month before the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group started to launch options on its BTC futures contracts in January.However, CME prices will depend on the Bitcoin index, while Bakkt prices will will be based on his physique.
Additionally, the Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange announced that it would begin offering trading options later this month.
Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler was named the next Georgia state senator by state governor Brian Kemp last week. Loeffler will step down from the company's CEO role before he took office on January 1, 2020.
