World’s Largest Futures Exchange CME Gearing Up To Launch Spot Bitcoin Trading; A New Era In Crypto?

Due to growing demand, derivatives leader Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is on track to introduce a dedicated platform for spot Bitcoin trading in addition to its existing futures product. In doing so, CME will compete with Binance, which currently dominates the spot market by trading volume.

CME To Foray Into Bitcoin Spot Trading

The CME Group is preparing to capitalize on the increasing interest in Bitcoin among key financial sector players to establish a regulated platform that offers spot traders direct exposure to the flagship crypto.

According to a Financial Times report that cited sources privy to the matter, the exchange has already held discussions with traders who prefer dealing with cryptocurrencies on a regulated marketplace. Currently, it’s not clear when spot Bitcoin trading will commence on CME as the plan is yet to be finalized.

It’s worth mentioning that CME has long been a major player in the crypto industry. In 2017, the exchange rolled out Bitcoin futures, a move that coincided with the peak of the bull rally that year. Since then, it has launched ETH futures and micro futures for both digital assets, making it the leading futures exchange by open interest.

The report noted that the introduction of spot Bitcoin trading on CME’s platform would allow traders to benefit from basis trades, where they would make profits by exploiting the discrepancies between futures prices and BTC’s spot price. FT added that CME’s spot trading business could be conducted through EBS, a Switzerland-based currency trading venue known for its strict regulations on digital asset trading.

If the planned spot Bitcoin trading goes live, CME would become another outlet for traditional investors on Wall Street to gain greater access to cryptocurrencies, in addition to the nearly dozen spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) greenlighted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in mid-January.

The spot BTC products have hit milestones for what has been one of the most successful ETF launches in US history. Since their debut, they have fetched over $12.15 billion in net inflows despite the exits from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Moreover, their approval propelled the Bitcoin price to its current all-time high of nearly $74K.

At press time, BTC was trading for $66,424, which is 8.5% higher than it was this time last week.