Derivatives marketplace Chicago Mercantile Exchange is adding to its cryptocurrency offerings with daily expirations for bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures options contracts, the company said in a press release on Monday.
Effective May 22, bitcoin and ether futures options will have expirations Mondays through Fridays. Contracts based on micro-sized bitcoin and ether futures will add Tuesdays and Thursdays as expirations dates to the current slate of Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All of this is in addition to the monthly and quarterly expirations now available.
“Against a backdrop of heightened market volatility in the digital-asset sector, we continue to see clients turn to a trusted, regulated venue like CME Group for reliable and efficient cryptocurrency risk-management products,” Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group (CME), said in the release.
CME’s bitcoin and ether futures and options had a record daily average volume of more than $3 billion in the first quarter, the firm said. The company launched its micro bitcoin futures in May last year to respond to demand for smaller-sized contracts.