The US commodities regulator, CFTC, has approved Cboe Clear’s application to offer margined futures contracts for Bitcoin and Ether, in what is being hailed as a milestone for the US institutional crypto market.
“The amended order permits Cboe Clear to provide clearing services for digital asset futures on a margined basis for futures commission merchants, in addition to the fully collateralized futures and fully collateralized swaps previously authorized,” said the CFTC in a statement yesterday.
Cboe Clear’s parent company, Cboe Digital Exchange, LLC, is registered with the CFTC as a designated contract market.
The authorisation will allow users to trade futures at a fraction of the cost, without having to put the entire value upfront. It should also improve access for traditional firms to enter the crypto space, without having to use intermediaries for custody.
CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero said in a tweet that the application was approved after additional “cyber protections” had been requested, including “critical risk mitigation” to manage the “heightened risk” within the digital assets space.
It comes at a crucial time for crypto regulation in the US, after the collapse of several high profile players including FTX (which had a similar application rejected last year) led to increased scrutiny of the digital assets arena.
Natan Tiefenbrun, president of Cboe Europe, called the move “an important milestone for regulated crypto”.
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