CME’s Ether Futures contract launch: An update

You are pretty familiar with Bitcoin‘s futures contract, right? It’s in the market for more than three years. Futures allow investors to trade their crypto assets for a specific price and at a particular time. The quantity also remains fixed in the contract. Soon, you will see another futures contract for Ether. CME, or Chicago Mercantile Exchange, is going to launch it soon, on 8th February 2021. 

What will these contracts contain? Well, 50 units of Ether and its derivatives, open for trading, from 5 pm (Central Time) from Sunday to Friday. 

This contract will work on the basis of the Ether-Dollar reference rate used by CF Benchmarks, an organization approved by FCA. 

Contextually, CME announced the launch at the time when Bitcoin’s futures saw a break at $20,000. Ether is at $1439.60, half of its highest records. CME is considered as the third-largest futures exchange in the world, as of now. 

Experts think that this move can lead to the institutionalization of crypto assets.