On September 13th, Eurex will offer Europe’s first Bitcoin futures contract, an effort of digital asset supplier ETC Group.
While the United States is still debating whether to approve an ETF, Europe has already moved on with the launch of the first Bitcoin futures by ETC Group, a major developer of digital asset-backed securities. Eurex – Europe’s largest derivatives exchange – has announced that it would list the first Bitcoin ETN (exchange-traded note) futures on September 13th, 2021.
As a result, investors will be able to purchase futures contracts based on ETC Group’s BTCetc Physical Bitcoin (BTCE), the world’s first exchange-traded product. The push for a Bitcoin futures option comes in the wake of a surge in institutional interest in Europe:
“In view of increased institutional demand for secure exposure to Bitcoin, we are thrilled to announce the launch of these Bitcoin ETN futures on Eurex’s regulated trading and clearing infrastructure. This step will enable a broader range of market participants to trade and hedge Bitcoin since the new futures contract will be treated similarly to other derivatives contracts in terms of central clearing, netting, and risk management,” said Randolf Roth, a Eurex executive board member.
ETC Group, which debuted in June 2020, has grown to become one of the largest crypto ETPs in the world, with multiple enterprises operating there. The futures contract, according to the business, would be exchanged and physically delivered in BTCE, which is 100 percent backed by BTC.
Europe Is Ahead of the United States
The regulatory environment in the United States has always been unfavorable to the crypto space and has become even less so with the introduction of a new infrastructure bill a few weeks ago. Regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission are now unable to approve a single proposal for a Bitcoin ETF.
Europe is proving to be a more hospitable environment for crypto products in this sense, as institutional demand for products related to cryptocurrency has risen in comparison to the United States. Despite investor pessimism in the United States, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenschein stated that a crypto ETF in the country is a matter of “when, not if,” and last month’s market corrections enabled long-term holders to accumulate more BTC.
Numerous European laws now place a greater emphasis on cryptocurrency than ever before. As CryptoPotato reported on August 1st, institutional funds operating in Germany will be able to invest up to 20% of their portfolios in digital assets. The idea came about as a result of numerous local groups requesting exposure to cryptocurrency-related items.
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