CHICAGO: Bitcoin has begun trading on a major exchange for the first time. It launched on the CBOE futures exchange in Chicago at 23:00 GMT Sunday, allowing investors to bet on whether Bitcoin prices will rise or fall. In the lead-up to its futures debut, the value of the digital currency has surged. Bitcoin’s introduction to the CBOE has been seen by some as a step towards legitimising the currency. The move is expected to be followed next week by a listing on the rival Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Futures are a type of derivative contract that allows trading based on movements in Bitcoin prices, without requiring ownership of the currency itself.
CBOE trading saw the Bitcoin futures contract expiring in January rise 17% from $15,000 to above $18,000. An exchange insider said its start was low key, with “no champagne”. However, CBOE tweeted to warn that its website was running slowly and could be temporarily unavailable.
Anticipation of the first mainstream listings have helped the controversial currency soar past $10,000 and then over $17,000 on Thursday before retreating. The price of Bitcoin stood at about $16,600 on Monday, according to Coindesk.com. Nick Colas, of Data Trek research, said the futures listings gave Bitcoin “legitimacy – it recognises that it’s an asset you can trade”.
Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James’s Place told the BBC’s Today programme that he remained cautious about the currency.
“I refuse to use the word legitimate, but it’s probably moved out of the shadows into the open,” he said.
“But what I think it means is more people in the conventional investment banking market will take a look at Bitcoin.
“It has been described as the asset class of 2017 but when we went into the year no one would have called it an asset class.”
