Bitcoin futures are coming from a number of arenas, with recent announcements from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Tokyo Financial Exchange. However, in spite of the massive run up on Bitcoin in anticipation, US regulators are clear that they will keep very tight control over the market.
According to statements from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), regulators will be paying careful attention to the Bitcoin futures markets in order to ensure that they are not manipulated. According to Andrew Busch, the CFTC’s chief market intelligence officer:
“The exchanges are looking at the underlying cash contract to make sure it’s not manipulated. Our role as a derivatives regulator is to make sure the futures contract it’s not manipulated. We’re going to do that for sure. This is a unique animal, unlike any commodity we’ve looked at before.”
Complaints already?
According to reports, however, there have been complaints from the Futures Industry Association that the potential risk from Bitcoin futures is substantial. The CFTC has, nevertheless, approved the futures markets for both the CBOE and CME, and the Nasdaq has made suggestions that it will also begin trading in Q2 2018.
The Bitcoin price has skyrocketed in recent days and remains highly volatile ahead of the massive mainstream adoption that futures represent. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $15,750.