Derivatives marketplace CME Group has announced that it will offer options on its bitcoin futures contracts. The contracts will be operational from the first quarter of next year.

The firm plans to expand into the crypto business with the latest move. The launch of the bitcoin option will help clients with additional tools for precise hedging and trading. It will thus help institutions and professional traders manage spot market bitcoin exposure. Due to increased client demand and the robust growth of their BTC futures market, the launch will have a significant impact. However, the launch is yet to get green signals from the regulatory bodies.

The Chicago-based company has offered bitcoin futures since December 2017. This was when the price of bitcoin in the spot market briefly traded as high as $19,800. This is during a wild bull market. The firm has seen 20 successful futures settlements with over 3,300 individuals accounts trading. The firm boasts an average of 7,000 CME bitcoin futures contracts trading per day. Though these days the market has cooled significantly, there is still a small but growing demand among institutional and retail traders for futures.

Apart from CME Group, crypto giant Binance will also reportedly launch crypto futures trading. CEO Changpeng Zhao had announced this in his keynote speech at the 2nd Annual Asia Blockchain Summit 2019 as per the source.