After months of preparation, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today it will begin trading bitcoin futures on coming Sunday, December 10.
According to a press release by Cboe Global Markets, Inc., which is one of the world's largest exchange holding companies, the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) will "offer trading in bitcoin futures beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at the start of Global Trading Hours. Monday, December 11, will be the first full day of trading."
The bitcoin futures will trade on CFE under the ticker symbol 'XBT.' XBT futures are cash-settled contracts based on bitcoin exchange Gemini's auction price for BTC, denominated in U.S. dollars. Gemini is a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange started by the Winklevoss twins in 2015, which allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets such as bitcoin.
The announcement added that trading of the futures product would be free until the end of December.
CBOE's chairman and CEO, Ed Tilly, said in a statement:
"Given the unprecedented interest in bitcoin, it's vital we provide clients the trading tools to help them express their views and hedge their exposure. We are committed to encouraging fairness and liquidity in the bitcoin market. To promote this, we will initially offer XBT futures trading for free."
This announcement is the third about bitcoin futures in recent days. The CME Group will also offer bitcoin futures trading on December 18. Moreover, Nasdaq is also preparing to launch a bitcoin futures contract, allowing investors to bet on the future price of Bitcoin.
These developments come at a time when bitcoin price sets and then breaks all-time highs one after another. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at over $11,000.