Tuesday, March 19, 2019

"CBOE Abandons Bitcoin Futures"

From the Wall Street Journal, March 18:
Market launched with fanfare in 2017 will wind down once its last contract expires in June
The first U.S. exchange company to launch bitcoin futures has pulled the plug on them, the latest sign that mainstream financial firms are losing their enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies.

Cboe Global Markets Inc. said in a notice to traders last week that it “does not currently intend to list additional XBT futures contracts for trading.” XBT is the symbol for the bitcoin futures listed by Cboe.

Monthly futures contracts, such as XBT, expire every month and the exchange must keep listing new ones to keep the market going. Cboe’s move means that the bitcoin-futures market it launched in 2017 will wind down once its last contract expires in June.

Cboe “is assessing its approach with respect to how it plans to continue to offer digital asset derivatives for trading,” the notice said. A spokesman for Cboe declined to comment beyond what the company said in the notice....MORE
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