CME Group Expands Crypto Options with Daily-Settled Bitcoin Contracts

CME Group plans to launch financially-settled options on its Bitcoin Friday futures on 24 February, marking a significant expansion of its cryptocurrency derivatives offering and introducing its first daily-expiring crypto options contracts.

The new product, which remains subject to regulatory review, will allow traders to manage bitcoin exposure with options expiring each business day, Monday through Friday. This contrasts with CME's existing physically-settled cryptocurrency options, which have less frequent expiration dates.

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, explained the strategic rationale: "We are pleased to offer these new options that provide traders with even greater precision to manage short-term bitcoin price risk. Building on the success of our Bitcoin Friday futures, the smaller size of these contracts, along with daily expiries, offer market participants a capital-efficient toolset to effectively adjust their bitcoin exposure."

The launch follows strong trading activity in CME's Bitcoin Friday futures, which have seen more than 775,000 contracts traded since their introduction on 29 September, with average daily volume reaching 9,700 contracts. Notably, 44 percent of trading activity occurs outside U.S. market hours, indicating significant international demand.

Market makers have welcomed the new product. Joshua Lim, Global Co-head of Markets at FalconX, said: "Given the increasing density of tradable catalysts in crypto, CME Group's new option suite on Bitcoin Friday futures provides the granularity that market participants need for hedging and expressing nuanced views on Bitcoin."

Jason Urban, Global Head of Trading at Galaxy, added: "As a major liquidity provider in the digital asset derivatives space, we see CME Group's introduction of options on Bitcoin Friday futures as a timely, important addition to the market. These contracts offer a flexible and cost-effective way for our trading desk to optimize risk management and provide tailored solutions to our counterparties navigating bitcoin price volatility."

The new options will complement CME's existing suite of cryptocurrency derivatives, which includes physically-settled options on Bitcoin, Ether, Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures. The move comes as institutional participation in cryptocurrency derivatives continues to grow, with exchanges competing to offer more sophisticated trading and risk management tools.