Bakkt to Launch Cash-Settled Bitcoin Futures
- Bakkt’s new Bitcoin cash-settled futures contracts will be listed on ICE Futures Singapore and cleared by ICE Clear Singapore.
- The price of the new contracts will be settled against existing physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts.
Bakkt’s Institutional Digital Asset Summit in July, 2019. Bakkt
The Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) institutional Bitcoin trading platform Bakkt will launch its cash-settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract on 9 December, the company announced in a blog post on 23 November.
According to the announcement, the Bakkt Bitcoin Cash Settled Monthly Futures contracts will be listed on ICE Futures Singapore and cleared by ICE Clear Singapore, which are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Reportedly Bakkt’s COO, Adam White, revealed the company’s plan to start offering cash-settled contracts during the Invest: NYC conference on 12 November.
The blog post also revealed that the new cash-settled contracts will be settled against prices of Bakkt’s existing physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts, and that the contracts will be sized at one BTC, and settled in USD.
The company’s physically delivered bitcoin futures were finally launched last month, after two delays and 13 months of speculation.
Lucas Schmeddes, President & COO of ICE Futures and Clear Singapore, said in the blog post:
“Our new cash settled futures contract will offer investors in Asia and around the world a convenient, capital efficient way to gain or hedge exposure in bitcoin markets. Building off the success of our deliverable futures contract, the cash settled futures will leverage ICE’s regulated, globally-accessible market to offer a safe, secure and compliant environment for the trading of bitcoin.”
Last month the ICE subsidiary also announced that it was planning to launch “the first regulated options contract for bitcoin futures” on 9 December as well. Bakkt further said that ICE Futures U.S. self-certified the contract through the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Bakkt also expanded its custody services to its entire client base last week, after receiving authorization from the N.Y. Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to offer its custody services to all institutions, and not only to clients that traded its Bitcoin futures contracts.
Bakkt’s current announcement comes only two days after MAS, Singapore’s central bank, proposed to allow cryptocurrency-based derivatives to be traded on regulated platforms.
MAS’ proposal aims to allow derivatives based on Payment Tokens to be listed and traded on Approved Exchanges, and be subject to the city-state’s Securities and Futures Act (SFA), Singapore currently has only 4 Approved exchanges, one of which is ICE Futures Singapore.
- One of the main points of the complaint is that Gemini provided misleading information on how susceptible to manipulation the BTC futures contract could be.
- The CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, injunctions relating to registration and trading, and an injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
Gemini founders Tyler Winklevoss (L) and Cameron Winklevoss (R) onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt, New York, May 6, 2015. Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch
- Genesis Global Trading, Cumberland, and Akuna Capital will be providing liquidity for CME Group’s new crypto investment vehicle.
- The new micro BTC and ETH options, expected to start trading on 28 March, will allow for a wider range of market participants to manage their exposure.
- While the pilot will be limited to certain Quiznos locations in the city, customers will be able to receive a $15 BTC reward for paying with Bitcoin.
- The pilot was made possible through a partnership with Bakkt, and could be expanded to other locations in the country should it be successful.