A Roger Ver-backed crypto exchange will provide physical futures contracts in Asia

By Manoj Sharma for CNR

Backed by Roger Ver – the so-called ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ – a cryptocurrency exchange is set to offer physical Bitcoin futures contracts to investors in Asia in the coming month.

Back in December, NASDAQ confirmed its own plans to launch Bitcoin futures in this coming year. However, no timeline has thus far been confirmed for that. On the other hand, Coin Futures and Lending Exchange, the exchange backed by Roger Ver, is already taking the initiative and pressing ahead.

Based in Hong Kong, CoinFLEX is a former unit of UK Bitcoin exchange Coinfloor, and is owned by Roger Ver and Trading International Inc. The exchange will be headed by the co-founder of Coinfloor, Mark Lamb.

As reported by Bloomberg, CoinFLEX will offer future contracts for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum, which could be leveraged up to 20 times.

The exchange will directly compete with BitMEX, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency trading platform founded by Arthur Hayes from Citigroup Inc. However, the ability to physically deliver futures traded on the platform will potentially give CoinFLEX a competitive edge in the market.

Mark Lamb shared said that “crypto derivatives could become an order of magnitude larger than spot markets and the main thing that’s holding back that growth is the lack of physical delivery. […] Volumes are reduced because of a problem of trust when it comes to cash-settled trades”

In this context, though, Roger Ver-backed cryptocurrency exchange will be competing with Bakkt, which is also set to deliver Bitcoin futures contracts physically. And Bakkt is going to be a tough opponent…