Bitcoin futures go live on Eurex, the largest derivatives exchange in Europe
The new futures contract has gone live, trades in Euros, and is physically delivered in BTCE, which is 100% backed by bitcoin.
Eurex, the largest derivatives exchange in Europe, has introduced Bitcoin ETN Futures as the first step in Eurex’s portfolio of crypto derivatives.
Bitcoin ETN Futures, which has been created and launched by Eurex, is based on ETC Group’s BTCetc – ETC Group Physical Bitcoin (ticker: BTCE), the world’s most heavily traded Crypto ETP.
ETC Group is a specialist in digital asset-backed securities with over $1 billion AUM. The debut and live listing of Europe’s first Bitcoin Futures contract on Eurex is a milestone for both companies.
The new futures contract has gone live, trades in Euros, and is physically delivered in BTCE, which is 100% backed by bitcoin and can be readily redeemed by any investor for the underlying bitcoin.
BTCE launched on Deutsche Börse XETRA in June 2020 and is now listed on multiple European exchanges as well as becoming the first European Crypto ETP product to offset its carbon footprint earlier this year.
Bradley Duke, CEO of ETC Group said: “Today’s listing of Bitcoin Futures, based on ETC Group’s leading Bitcoin ETP, marks another major milestone in providing institutions with financial products that allow exposures to crypto on regulated exchanges. The selection of BTCE by Eurex, Europe’s largest derivatives exchange, further establishes ETC Group’sleadership in the crypto ETPs, and is recognition of the quality of our products and their world beating liquidity.”
The futures contract provides a fully regulated on-exchange environment for the tracking of the price of Bitcoin, based on a transparent price discovery of the underlying BTCE.
Bitcoin ETN futures are centrally cleared like any other derivatives traded on Eurex, with clearing, netting, and risk management processes assured by Eurex, mitigating counterparty risk and reducing operational costs for market participants.
Eurex is the European derivatives exchange owned by financial titan Deutsche Börse Group. The firm first announced the creation and launch of bitcoin exchange-traded note (ETN) futures in August, with the go-live scheduled for September 13.
Eurex’s new contract will be traded in euro and physically delivered in Bitcoin ETNs. The latter, which is equivalent to 1/1000th of a Bitcoin at launch, is fully backed by and redeemable in the primary cryptocurrency.
An ETN is a type of unsecured debt obligation payable to the contract holder with a set maturity date. ETNs holders receive a one-time payment on expiry date, based on the performance of the underlying asset, but they can also sell the contract any time on the open market.
In effect, Eurex bitcoin ETN futures provide investors with the opportunity to gain “regulated on-exchange” exposure to the performance of bitcoin without actually purchasing the leading crypto asset.
There are now three bitcoin ETNs listed on Germany’s Xetra platform. ETC Group was first listed in June 2020, followed by crypto ETP issuer 21Shares and US asset manager VanEck.
