Crypto Facilities Adds BCH to Futures Contracts
CME Group partner, the UK-based futures exchange, Crypto Facilities announced on Friday, August 17, that it is adding Bitcoin Cash (BCH) futures product to its list of offerings. The firm’s platform is already regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is launching trading in Bitcoin Cash futures at 4pm GMT.
Broadening Investment Opportunities
Crypto Facilities already has a range of crypto futures offerings for its customers. The platform offers its customers trading options in Ethereum, Bitcoin, XRP and Litecoin futures contracts.
According to Crypto Facilities’ Chief Executive Officer Timo Schlaefer, BCH is a top five cryptocurrency by market value, so it made sense for them to add the altcoin to their list of crypto futures offerings. Schlaefer also stated that based on past interest in its other crypto futures contracts, he was expecting customers to snap up the opportunity to trade in BCH futures too.
Schlaefer stated that their company had seen trading volumes that were as high as $180 million in a period of 24 hours. The CEO also said that they see a daily average trading volume of $20 million to $60 million. Since 2015, there has been a steady increase in the volume of trade in the crypto derivatives segment, according to Schlaefer.
Mixed Press Attention
The addition of BCH to a futures contract comes at a time when the cryptocurrency is receiving mixed attention from the media due to reports that Bitmain, the Chinese crypto mining hardware maker, is planning an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the near future.
According to reports, Bitmain traded in almost all of its Bitcoin holdings for Bitcoin Cash and purportedly holds about 1 million BCH, which totals to a price of $550 million based on current exchange rates.
Samson Mow tweeted that the Bitmain IPO is a really risky proposition for any investor, that the potential for massive losses is very high since the company traded in its stable (relatively) BTC for the less liquid BCH. These concerns have been raised to highlight the liquidity problems that BCH faces, especially since its price has dropped by 80% since its December 2017 highs.
Not everyone, however is skeptical about BCH being a success. According to BCH evangelist, Roger Ver, the fact that BCH was the next crypto selected for a futures contract just underlines the altcoin’s usefulness as well as innovativeness.
Even trading and investment firm, Profluent Japan stated that this move is good news for the markets. According to them BCH needed a proper hedging fund that was regulated and was managed by a first class team.