Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures launched July 31, enabling traders to capture the relative value of ether and bitcoin in a single transaction. The new contract is cash-settled based on the settlement prices of the corresponding futures contracts. Like inter-commodity spreads, ratio futures can help maintain price alignment between the two underlying contracts, potentially improving the bid-ask spreads for the outright contracts. Read the FAQ to discover more.

Bitcoin futures and options: Amid recent market-moving events, open interest (OI) in CME Group Bitcoin futures reached an all-time high of 23,341 contracts (over 116.7K equivalent bitcoin or $4.5 billion notional) on November 24, demonstrating strengthening institutional interest. Bitcoin futures November average daily volume (ADV) was 13.4K (+3% MoM), OI averaged a record 21.8K (+28% MoM). 

Bitcoin options have traded over 170K since launch, November ADV was 313 and OI averaged 8.3K (+11% vs. Oct-23).

Launched May-21, Micro Bitcoin futures have traded over 9.7M contracts since. The futures are 1/10 of a bitcoin and settled to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate. Micro Bitcoin futures November ADV was 12.5K (+9% MoM), OI averaged 12.4K (+35% MoM).

CME Group introduced options on Micro Bitcoin futures and options on Micro Ether futures starting March 28. The options are right sized at 1/10 of their respective tokens. Now, over 600K contracts traded since launch across the various expiries with trades submitted from EMEA, APAC and North America. New expiries are now available, enjoy greater precision and versatility in managing short-term bitcoin and ether risk with the expansion of weekly options expiries across our Cryptocurrency options suite. Over 864K micro options contracts have traded, with trading picking up across the newly listed expiries. Micro Bitcoin options November ADV was 969 (+29% MoM), and OI averaged 9.2K (+26% MoM). Micro Ether options November ADV was 4.5K (+128% MoM), and OI averaged 46.3K (+238% MoM). Read our FAQ for additional information. 

CME Group launched Ether futures on February 8, 2021. The contract is cash-settled and based on the regulated CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. Nearly 3.6M CME Ether futures contracts have traded since launch (equivalent to 181M Ether). Ether futures November ADV was 6.6K (+20% vs. Oct), and OI averaged 5.4K (+13% vs. Oct).

Launched September 12, Ether options offer another way to efficiently manage ether exposure at a 50x multiplier. Nearly 30.4K contracts have traded since launch, equivalent to over 1.5M ether. Ether options November ADV was a 210, reaching a record 962 on November 10. Open Interest was a record average 5.3K (+13% vs. Oct). Read our FAQ for additional information.

Launched December 2021, over 7.2M contracts have traded since launch. November ADV was 10.4K, and OI averaged 23.9K (+1% vs. Oct.).  Sized at 1/10 of one ether, the contract provides an efficient, cost-effective way to manage exposure to one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Enjoy the same features of the larger Ether futures (ETH) at a fraction of the size, settled to the regulated CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate.

CME launch Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures in August 2022. The new contracts are designed to match that of their U.S.-denominated counterparts at five bitcoin or 50 ether per contract. The contracts will settle to the respective CME CF Bitcoin-Euro Reference Rate (BTCEUR_RR) and CME CF Ether-Euro Reference Rate (ETHEUR_RR). Read our FAQ for additional information.