Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBOE) has announced the settlement of the May expiry Cboe bitcoin (XBT) futures, the fifth contract
settlement (January, February, March, April) conducted since the contract was introduced last December.
The settlement price was $8,238.49, as determined by the 4:00 p.m. ET Gemini1 Exchange bitcoin auction.
Cboe bitcoin futures, the first U.S. regulated futures of their kind, launched on December 10, 2017. As of May 15, 2018, nearly 680,000 contracts have traded across expiries since the launch, representing a notional value of more than $6.85 billion. Average daily volume since bitcoin futures were launched is just over 6,300 contracts.
In addition, daily trading volume in Cboe bitcoin futures has exceeded 10,000 contracts in 14 sessions, with the most recent record for daily volume set April 25 with 19,000 contracts.
We’re very pleased with bitcoin futures’ solid performance in their first six months of trading,” said John Deters, Cboe’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Multi-Asset Solutions. “Volume has continued to build in a marketplace that is efficient, transparent and orderly. Further, we are delighted that our monthly settlements have been executed so smoothly and the process is performing as expected.
The Gemini bitcoin auction has become a valuable price discovery mechanism for the industry and serves Cboe and our customers well as the basis for XBT futures settlement,” he added.
Cboe bitcoin futures, which are cash-settled, were specifically designed to allow participants to implement straightforward trading strategies through settlement to a single, tradable auction price as calculated by Gemini.