CME Group to Launch Cash-Settled Micro Bitcoin Futures

“We’ve had a lot of demand from customers to introduce a smaller size bitcoin contract,” said Tim McCourt, CME Group global head of equity index and alternative investment products.

share

key takeaways

  • CME Group will launch cash-settled micro bitcoin futures worth 1/10 of one bitcoin in May.
  • Smaller contracts will allow for greater hedging and exposure opportunities for individual and institutional investors.

CME Group will launch cash-settled micro bitcoin futures contracts worth one-tenth of one bitcoin on May 3, the company announced Tuesday. 

“We’ve had a lot of demand from customers to introduce a smaller size bitcoin contract,” said Tim McCourt, CME Group global head of equity index and alternative investment products. 

“When you look at the recent rise in the price of bitcoin, the current contracts have really gotten too large for some, either in terms of the precision that folks need with managing or allocating capital to cryptocurrency, or they could be hedging some of their other crypto related strategies, whether it be options or in the underlying spot market.” 

CME Group’s current bitcoin futures contracts, which launched in 2017, have five bitcoin and are about $300,000, McCourt said. The micro bitcoin futures contracts will be around $6,000, allowing smaller investors to get involved in the digital asset space. 

The new contracts will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, which is  a daily reference rate of the US dollar price of bitcoin.

“With the size of the contract continuing to grow as a function of the rising price of bitcoin, we think this will help us grow even further as we allow more market participants to scale their positions, to deploy different types of strategies, as well as bring new participants,” said McCourt. 

The Chicago-based exchange launched ethereum futures contracts earlier this year, further establishing itself as one of the most pro-cryptocurrency regulated exchanges in the US. On average, 767 ether contracts have been traded each day since their launch in February, which is equivalent to 38,400 ether. 

CME Group bitcoin futures trading volumes have steadily increased in the past several years, especially as bitcoin has risen in price and popularity. So far in 2021, 13,800 CME bitcoin futures contracts have traded on average each day, equivalent to 69,000 bitcoin. 

“We have seen great signs that the growth we’ve been able to manifest over the last three-plus years will certainly lend itself to what we hope will be a successful introduction of the contracts in May,” said McCourt.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (4).png

Research

Even as the most performant, widely used blockchain today, Solana is still far from perfect, prompting some teams to iterate upon some design choices while maintaining compatibility at the SVM execution layer. This report analyzes three emergent SVM chains (Eclipse, Atlas, and Fogo) to understand the motivations behind the technical architectures, as well as the current state and future outlook.

article-image

Fundamental investors are turning to token buybacks

article-image

A Glassnode report found that the accumulation range for bitcoin is ‘weak,’ indicating a decline in demand

article-image

CEO Bam Azizi said he’ll only be seeking stablecoin-exclusive funding rounds from now on

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is set to deepen its role by integrating with emerging standards and expanding its utility across different onchain sectors

article-image

Zeta Markets has shipped testnet for Bullet, a low-latency “network extension,” the team told Lightspeed exclusively

article-image

Having passed Congress, the resolution will now head to Trump’s desk