Cboe Global Markets today announced today that Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) plans to offer trading in bitcoin futures beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, December 10th, 2017, at the start of Global Trading Hours. Monday, December 11th, will be the first full day of trading, and trading will be free through December.
Cboe bitcoin futures will trade on CFE under the ticker symbol ‘XBT.’ Bitcoin futures are cash-settled contracts based on Gemini’s auction price for bitcoin, denominated in U.S. dollars. Gemini Trust Company, LLC is a digital asset exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets such as bitcoin.
XBT futures are designed to allow participants to implement straightforward trading strategies through settlement to a single, tradeable auction price.
Ed Tilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets, said:
“Given the unprecedented interest in bitcoin, it’s vital we provide clients the trading tools to help them express their views and hedge their exposure. We are committed to encouraging fairness and liquidity in the bitcoin market. To promote this, we will initially offer XBT futures trading for free.”
Fellow exchange CME also announced it would begin bitcoin futures this month. Mr. Tilly announced Cboe’s exclusive bitcon data partnership with Gemini Exchange back in August. He informed back then that launching bitcoin futures would likely come before the end of the year (Q4, 2017).
Summary Product Specifications Chart for Planned Cboe Bitcoin (USD) Futures
- Contract Name: Cboe Bitcoin (USD) Futures
- Planned Listing Date: December 10, 2017
- Description: Cboe bitcoin (USD) futures are cash-settled futures contracts that are based on the Gemini Exchange auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars.
- Contract Multiplier: The contract multiplier for the XBT futures contract is 1 bitcoin.
- Ticker Symbols: Futures Symbol – XBT
- Final Settlement Value Symbol – XBTS
- Contract Expirations: The Exchange may list for trading up to four near-term expiration weeks (“weekly” contracts), three near-term serial months (“serial” contracts), and three months on the March quarterly cycle (“quarterly” contracts). Initially, the exchange will list three near-term serial months.
- Trading Hours: The trading hours for an expiring XBT futures contract end at 2:45 p.m. on its final settlement date. All times referenced are Chicago time.
| Type of Trading Hours | Monday | Tuesday – Friday |
| Extended | 5:00 p.m. (Sunday) to 8:30 a.m. | 3:30 p.m. (previous day) to 8:30 a.m. |
| Regular | 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. |
- Minimum Price Intervals: 10.00 points USD/XBT (equal to $10.00 per contract). The individual legs and net prices of spreads in XBT futures may be in increments of 0.01 points USD/XBT (equal to $0.01 per contract).
- Trade At Settlement: Trade at Settlement (TAS) transactions are not permitted in XBT futures.
- Exchange of Contract for Related Position Transactions: Exchange of Contract for Related Position (ECRP) transactions may be entered into with respect to XBT futures contracts. Any ECRP transaction must satisfy the requirements of CFE Rule 414. For any ECRP transaction in which the related position is bitcoin, the related position portion of the transaction must be consummated through the facilities of Gemini. The minimum price increment for an ECRP transaction involving the XBT futures contract is 0.005 points USD/XBT.
- Block Trades: The minimum Block Trade quantity for the XBT futures contract is 50 contracts if there is only one leg involved in the trade. The minimum price increment for a Block Trade in the XBT futures contract is $0.005 points USD/XBT.
- Final Settlement Date: The Final Settlement Date for XBT futures is two business days prior to the third Friday of the month denoted by the ticker symbol.
- Final Settlement Value: The Final Settlement Value of an expiring XBT futures contract shall be the official auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars determined at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the Final Settlement Date by the Gemini Exchange Auction.
- Position Limits: A person: (i) may not own or control more than 5,000 contracts net long or net short in all XBT futures contract expirations combined and (ii) may not own or control more than 1,000 contracts net long or net short in the expiring XBT futures contract, commencing at the start of trading hours 5 business days prior to the Final Settlement Date of the expiring XBT futures contract.
- Reportable Position Level: 5 contracts.