Key Points
- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is considering the introduction of bitcoin spot trading.
- Bitcoin spot trading would provide another avenue for Wall Street to access digital assets.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is contemplating introducing bitcoin spot trading to its existing futures product.
This information comes from anonymous sources who are reportedly familiar with the situation.
Bitcoin Spot Trading
The group has allegedly been in talks with traders who are interested in dealing with cryptocurrencies on a regulated platform.
However, the plan is yet to be finalized.
The introduction of bitcoin spot trading on the CME would enable traders to benefit from basis trades.
These trades allow traders to capitalize on the difference between futures prices and the spot price of the underlying asset.
The CME Group, which owns the world’s largest futures exchange, currently supports bitcoin futures trading.
Access to Digital Assets
If the plan proceeds as speculated, the CME would provide another platform for Wall Street entities to gain increased access to digital assets.
This would be in addition to the 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds approved in the U.S. in January.
Spot trading involves the immediate exchange of the asset being traded, typically on the spot date.
For bitcoin, this would mean directly swapping it for fiat or another cryptocurrency at current market prices.
Most cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, offer bitcoin spot trading.
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have reportedly performed better than initially expected, attracting $12.15 billion in net inflows since their January introduction.
Their approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission contributed to bitcoin’s value reaching a record high of over $73,000 in March.
At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin has increased by 6.72% in the past 24 hours to $65,995.
The CME Group has chosen not to comment on the situation.
