The difference between CME and CBOE bitcoin futures

Bitcoin futures start trading on the CME today on December 17th and began trading on the CBOE last Sunday.

There are a few differences with the futures contracts.

CBOE 1 contract equals 1 bitcoin
CME 1 contract is equal to 5 bitcoins

Margin rates for the CBOE is 44% so based on a price of $20000 you would need to put up $8800.
The CME has a bit of a higher requirement at 47% however the big difference is the number of BTC per contract. One contract based on 5 BTC at 20000 would have a margin requirement of $47000. The CME futures will have a much higher barrier to entry for those looking to get in on BTC futures.

If you own less than 5 bitcoins and want to hedge your position than the CBOE would be your best bet. The CME futures market is for those with more than 5 bitcoin and have deeper wallets. The leverage of 5 to 1 will keep the smaller investors away from trading futures on the CME.

The similarities with these futures contracts is that they are cash settled, so investors would not be able to take delivery. Keep in mind with the cash settled contracts I think bitcoin futures will be subject to more price manipulation.

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@bythenumbers432/will-futures-will-it-be-a-boom-or-bust-for-bitcoin