Finally The "CFTC" approves new bitcoin futures markets

Key facts:

The CFTC announced Monday the approval of Bitnomial, with which they can trade futures and options.
Bitnomial is focusing on getting its clients to receive bitcoin after the contract ends.
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved the exchange Bitnomial to operate as a designated contract market (DCM), which means the exchange can now offer bitcoin futures and option contracts.

The approval, which was granted on Monday, brings a new character to the still small world of Bitcoin futures contracts in the United States.

To date, only CME, Cboe, Bakkt, ErisX and LedgerX offer bitcoin futures and option contracts, despite Cboe ending theirs in early 2019 and ErisX featuring low volume. Unlike CME , Bitnomial seems to be strictly focusing on physical settlement contracts, meaning that customers receive real bitcoins when the contract expires, rather than its equivalent in a fiat currency.

The CFTC carried out an on-site technical evaluation of the operations of the exchange office before granting its approval, according to an order issued on Monday .

Bitnomial said it was "the first and only exchange house initiative" to receive approval to offer both marginal and physical settlement bitcoin futures, as well as option contracts in the United States.

“The approval enables Bitnomial to address a confluence of generational shifts in the financial markets: First, a new generation of clients are emerging as experts in trading , technology, and delivery. Second, new innovative unregulated derivatives are emerging with daily volumes, peaking at $ 45 billion, but they could be illegal for many US merchants, ”he said in a press statement.

The statement also said Bitnomial hopes to find clients for what they call "new growth areas", claiming that existing legacy companies have had a difficult time leveraging this foundation.

Binomial is now setting up user acceptance testing, hoping to start on April 27, and has already opened registrations for users.

In a statement, founder and CEO Luke Hoersten said the company will start with quarterly futures, micro futures, and options . Contracts are traded at a 37% margin and will be settled in a chain, rather than a ledger entry.

Jump Capital's Peter Johnson said bitcoin futures physical settlement contracts "are still legally inaccessible" to a large part of the United States market. Jump Capital supports Bitnomial, in conjunction with Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.

“Bitnomial's products are also reliably anchored to the price of the underlying assets through the physical settlement option. We are excited to be partners with a company that is committed to meeting the highest regulatory standards and increasing the accessibility of cryptocurrency derivatives to merchants in the United States, ”he said in the statement.

Bitnomial reached $ 7.5 million in a fundraiser from 12 investorslast December, according to an SEC document.