CME Launches Micro-Sized Bitcoin And Ether Options As Crypto Market Cap Pushes Past $2.2 Trillion

Chicago Merchantile Exchange Group, one of the largest derivatives marketplaces in the world, has officially launched options trading for its micro bitcoin and ether futures products.

New Micro Options Contracts At One-Tenth Of Their Standard Sizes

According to a March 27 press release published by the CME Group, micro-sized options have been launched in response to the exponential growth and liquidity witnessed in the exchange’s Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ethereum futures.

The new micro options contracts will be priced at one-tenth of their respective underlying tokens in size and will give various market participants, including institutions and individual traders, greater flexibility in managing their exposure to the two leading cryptocurrencies. They have added to the suite of crypto-related products offered by CME.

Options contracts give traders the right — but not the obligation — to purchase an asset at a specified price at any time during the life of the contract. Futures contracts, on the other hand, are obligations to buy or sell an asset at the predetermined date unless the position is closed ahead of time.

Mike Novogratz’s asset management firm Galaxy Digital will be tasked with providing liquidity for these new CME micro options. The new offerings come over two years since CME unveiled a BTC options trading product in January 2020 and over four years since the firm rolled out the first Bitcoin futures contracts back in December of 2017.

Bullish BTC Supercharges Crypto Market Cap To Hit $2.2T

CME’s announcement comes on the heels of cryptocurrencies breaking out. A broad run in the crypto market, led by Bitcoin piercing the $47K mark, has pushed the total market cap past $2.2 trillion. BTC is currently changing hands at around $47,489.50, a price it hasn’t seen since the start of the year — and analysts expect further upside in the near term.

In the past week, the number one crypto has jumped 15%, and Ether has risen 17%. While global markets remain on precarious grounds, it seems that BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies are heading to greener pastures.

It remains to be seen how long the bulls can remain in the driver’s seat, however.