CME Bitcoin Futures: A Better Way to Buy (or Short) Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has seen immense gains so far in 2017, and prices have been extremely turbulent, hitting investors with substantial corrections even amid a general upward trend. Bitcoin futures have become the next big thing for followers of the cryptocurrency, and CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) is looking to become the second exchange to offer futures contracts on bitcoin, following in the footsteps of CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ: CBOE). Investors want to know how the CME contract will compare to the CBOE's offerings and which one makes more sense for their needs. Below, you'll find all the facts you're looking for.

The CME is looking to launch its bitcoin futures effective Monday, Dec. 18. Trading will be available on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and for submission for clearing via the CME's ClearPort on the preceding day, Sunday, Dec. 17, starting at 6 p.m. EST.

Each CME bitcoin futures contract will correspond to the value of five bitcoin. That's substantially larger than the CBOE contract, which covers a single bitcoin. The CME contract will therefore be riskier for investors but will save them in transaction costs if they would have wanted to trade in five-bitcoin increments anyway.

Source: Fool.com