Chicago Board Options Exchange to Launch Leveraged Bitcoin Futures Trading in January

Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) Digital announced today its plans to introduce trading and clearing in margin futures on Bitcoin, commencing January 11, 2024. This move positions Cboe Digital as the first U.S. regulated cryptocurrency native exchange and clearinghouse to facilitate both spot and leveraged derivatives trading on a unified platform, according to the announcement.

Initially offering financially settled margined contracts on Bitcoin, Cboe Digital plans to diversify its product suite to include physically delivered products, pending regulatory approvals. The margin model is designed to enhance capital efficiency, enabling customers to engage in futures trading without the requirement of posting the full collateral upfront.

The unified spot and derivatives trading platform provided by Cboe Digital aims to streamline customer access to both markets, unlocking opportunities for increased capital and operational efficiencies.

The upcoming launch of margin futures will be supported by other firms in the cryptocurrency and traditional financial sectors, including B2C2, BlockFills, CQG, Cumberland DRW, Jump Trading Group, Marex, StoneX Financial, Talos, tastytrade, Trading Technologies, and Wedbush.

John Palmer, President of Cboe Digital, expressed gratitude for the support from industry partners, stating, “Our upcoming launch of margin futures represents a significant milestone for Cboe Digital, and we are grateful to have the support of such a remarkable group of industry partners who share our commitment to building trusted and transparent crypto markets. Futures have long served as valuable hedging instruments in the traditional financial markets, and we couldn’t be more excited to extend access to this tool further into the digital assets markets and offer margined trading for our customers. We believe derivatives will foster additional liquidity and hedging opportunities in crypto and represent the next critical step in this market’s continued growth.”

The planned margin futures launch aligns with Cboe Digital’s existing offerings of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and stablecoin trading on its spot crypto market. Contract margin requirements for the new futures will be published daily on Cboe Digital’s website, accompanied by standardized portfolio analysis of risk (SPAN) compatible risk parameter files for replicable margin calculations.

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