Derivatives marketplace Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME Group) announced the launch of options trading for Ether (ETH) futures on Monday – the same week as the expected Ethereum merger.
The launch of the new futures contract “is well-timed,” CME Group’s global head of equity and FX products, Tim McCourt, said in a statement. he said:
“As market participants await the upcoming Ethereum integration, a potentially game-changing update among the major cryptocurrency networks, demand for Ether derivatives is increasing.”
CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, has announced plans to launch futures options on August 18. The contracts offer one Ether future for 50 Ether per contract, based on the US dollar reference of the Ether price, which is updated daily.
The new contracts will join the existing CME Group products. The group launched its first Bitcoin futures contract in December 2017. Its Bitcoin (BTC) and ETH derivatives contracts saw strong demand in the second quarter of this year, despite the crypto winter.
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CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, said on Monday it has launched Ether (ETH) options for futures. pic.twitter.com/Ul4GTZ39ao— IEARN BOT (@IearnBot) September 12, 2022
CME Group introduced BTC options trading product in January 2020. CME launched micro Ether futures contracts in December 2021 and options contracts for existing micro BTC and ETH futures in March 2022 at 10% of the token amount. It also offers euro-denominated BTC and ETH futures.
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The developers of Ethereum have confirmed that the Ethereum blockchain is ready for the “merger”, in which it will move from a proof-of-work to a consensus-proof method. The merger is expected to take place on September 15.
At the time of writing, ETH is at $1,715, down 3.23% in 24 hours and down 11.14% in the last month. Anticipation of the merger and the September 15 release of the US consumer price index for August could lead to more price volatility.