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Nasdaq Prepares Launch of Bitcoin Futures Early Next Year

Traders Magazine Online News, November 30, 2017

John D'Antona Jr.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – even in the financial markets.

Following the lead of CME Group and Cboe Global Markets, exchange operator Nasdaq plans to launch its own bitcoin futures contract sometime in 2018. The CME hasn’t announced a set date for the contract to become live but a date of Dec 18 was at one point posted on its website. Officials at CME said the date was in error.

As first reported by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, Nasdaq, is aiming to launch bitcoin futures contracts in the first half of 2018.

An excerpt from the report reads:

“Nasdaq’s bitcoin contract would debut on Nasdaq Futures, or NFX, a marketplace that the New York-based exchange group launched in 2015 that until now has mainly focused on energy trading, according to the people familiar with the situation.”

Allan Schoenberg, a Nasdaq spokesman, declined to comment on the matter.

Rick Levin, Chair of the FinTech and Regulation Team at the law firm Polsinelli, told Traders Magazine that the Nasdaq announcement is a clear message that the traditional parts of the financial services industry are embracing FinTech and digital currencies.

“It is also a signal to the FinTech community that traditional financial services firms are ready to work with them and the regulators to address how these new financial products can be traded in a manner that is compliant with the securities laws and the commodities laws,” Levin said. “This may be disconcerting to some members of the crypto community that abhor any type of collegial relationship with traditional financial services firms and that have no regard for compliance with the laws."

CME said that effective Q4 2017, and pending all relevant regulatory review periods, please be advised that CME will launch Bitcoin futures. So, the market will just have to wait a little longer.

The CME contract unit for the future will be 5 index points or $25 and be quoted in bitcoin per US dollar.

Monthly contracts will be listed for the nearest 2 months in the March quarterly cycle (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) plus the nearest 2 serial months not in the March quarterly cycle.

Trading of futures contracts terminates at 4:00 p.m. London time on the last Friday of the contract month. If that day is not a business day in both the UK and the US, trading terminates on the preceding day that is a business day for both the UK and the US.

Trading hours on CME Globex are: Sunday - Friday 6:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT) with 15-minute trading halt Monday – Friday 3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.CT and a 60-minute break each day beginning at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. CT)

Trading hours on CME ClearPort Sunday - Friday 6:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT) with a 60-minute break each day beginning at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. CT)

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