Europe Prepares to Launch First Bitcoin Futures Amid US ETF Stalemate

Aug 24, 2021

An statement reveals that the continent's largest derivatives exchange, Eurex, will issue Europe's first-ever Bitcoin futures next month.

ETC Group, a supplier of digital asset-backed securities, said on Tuesday that its Bitcoin ETN Futures product would begin trading on September 13.

Europe Highlights “Growing Institutional Demand”

The ETC Group already runs BTCetc Physical Bitcoin, the world's first centrally cleared Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) (BTCE).

Several crypto ETPs from Deutsche Boerse have been launched since June 2020, with three of them set to begin trading on the Wiener Boerse — Vienna's stock exchange — in the near future, according to Cointelegraph.

The developments come amid rising investor demand for institutional Bitcoin and altcoin products, with Europe typically being more welcoming than the United States, which is dragging its feet on approving a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Starting next month, Eurex will host the first European futures contract based on a crypto ETP.

“We are happy to begin listing these Bitcoin ETN futures on our regulated trading and clearing infrastructure at Eurex, given the rising institutional demand for secure exposure to Bitcoin,” Eurex executive board member Randolf Roth said.

“By treating this new future like any other derivatives contract in terms of central clearing, netting, and risk management, a larger number of market players will be able to trade and hedge Bitcoin.”

Around the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $49,700, down about 1% on the day after briefly breaking the $50,000 barrier.

Mixed Institutional Sentiment Lingers

Institutional investor attitude is steadily returning to support crypto portfolio exposure, according to Cointelegraph.

Institutional instruments like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) have trailed behind rising spot prices, indicating that adoption has not yet returned to bull market levels seen before Bitcoin's all-time highs in April.

The GBTC premium — the additional cost of the Trust’s shares compared to BTC’s spot price — continues to hover in negative territory, equating to the shares trading at a discount.

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