CME Group To Roll Out Micro Bitcoin, Ether Options

Set to go live on March 28, the options contracts will be one-tenth the size of their underlying tokens

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Offerings will allow traders to hedge market-moving events with greater precision, according to CME Group’s global head of equity and foreign exchange products
  • CME Group began offering micro bitcoin and micro ether futures contracts last year

Derivatives exchange CME Group is set to roll out options on micro bitcoin and ether futures this month in a move to give more traders exposure to such instruments with nominal capital.

The options contracts, set to launch March 28, will be one-tenth the size of their underlying tokens. CME introduced bitcoin futures contracts, sized at five bitcoin, in 2020.

Futures require the buyer to purchase an asset at a certain date, while options give an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset before the contract expires.

CME Group began offering bitcoin futures contracts in 2017 and launched cash-settled micro bitcoin futures contracts worth one-tenth of one bitcoin last year. The derivatives marketplace moved in November to add micro ether futures as liquidity in ether futures grew steadily with investors. 

About 5.2 million micro bitcoin and micro ether futures contracts have changed hands in less than a year, according to Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equity and foreign exchange products.

“Building on the strength and liquidity of the underlying contracts, our micro-sized options will enable traders of all sizes to efficiently hedge market-moving events with greater precision and flexibility or fine-tune their cryptocurrency market exposure,” McCourt told Blockworks in an email.

As traders favor short-dated options to manage risk, according to McCourt, the launch will feature Monday, Wednesday and Friday weekly expiries for micro crypto options.

Executives at Genesis Global Trading, Cumberland and Akuna Digital Assets said their firms will provide liquidity.

“We believe that options on these contracts will allow existing market participants greater flexibility when seeking cost-efficient exposure as well as opening the market to new participants who prefer the more granular sizing,” Akuna CEO John Harris said in a statement.

The launch comes after CME Group launched two new reference rates for bitcoin and ether Monday that provide a daily reference rate of the US dollar price of the two digital assets, published at 4 pm ET.

“We’re continually talking with and listening to clients and market participants about new ways to help them manage cryptocurrency risk,” McCourt said, declining to share specific future crypto products the company has in the works.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

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.

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.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability