Bitcoin Futures product meant to compete with existing modest products

NASDAQ trying to satisfy regulatory requirements by CFTC

Despite Bitcoin sell-off, appetite still exists among institutional investors

NASDAQ Inc. is pursuing its plan to list Bitcoin futures in Q1 2019, despite the prevailing price crash. The company wants to introduce a product that will compete with products that are only traded unassertively.

Plans to Launch the Product by Q1 2019

Sources familiar with the issue have told Bloomberg publication the company is pegging its move on the continued interest in the cryptocurrency despite the dramatic plunge it has experienced lately.

The sources say NASDAQ has been burning the midnight oil to satisfy regulatory requirements from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before it can make the move. The company that operates the New York Exchange has been said to be planning on entering the Bitcoin Futures market since last year and may now be readying itself to take the “bull by the horns” come Q1 2019.

Bitcoin may have had a difficult month, but it hasn’t been as affected as the other major and minor cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s share of the total cryptocurrency capitalization has continued to increase throughout the month of November.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has so far fallen 45 percent this month following the Bitcoin cash (BCH) hard fork caused by the failure by miners and developers to reach an agreement over its future, which is said to have triggered a crypto sector-wide sell-off that has made skeptics doubt whether Bitcoin will survive this time around.

Interestingly, Bitcoin’s dominance has continued to tick throughout the month from a low of 51 percent to 53 percent, showing Bitcoin’s ability to ensure so much to continue attracting cryptocurrency miners and investors.

Bitcoin’s Plunge Not an Issue

The price of Bitcoin went below $3,500 this week, the first time in 14 months, which is 80 percent down from its peak of December 2017 and cast a shadow over hundreds of cryptocurrency startups that came up over the last two years. While reports of Bitcoin’s demise have dominated the media in the last two weeks, the original cryptocurrency is still worth more than it’s worth in the summer of 2017, long before other altcoins were created.

NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman said in January 2018 the exchange was trying to distinguish its plans for futures contracts from what was already in the market. NSADAQ says its futures will be “based off the Bitcoin’s price on numerous spot exchanges.”

Despite Bitcoin’s massive sell-off, it may still appear like the appetite for cryptocurrencies persists especially among institutional investors and the traditional financial services industry.