CBOE, the largest options, and futures exchange in the U.S., is allegedly waiting on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch Ethereum (ETH) futures before the end of the year report Business Insider.

CBOE was the first exchange to launch Bitcoin futures in December of 2017 and is set to do the same thing with Ethereum.

Ethereum may join Bitcoin in the big leagues

There is a belief that the presence of cryptocurrency-based derivatives will play a critical in attracting institutional investors to the cryptocurrency market. If it happens, it could also lead to further investments in Ethereum products and might even lead to Ethereum ETFs.

There are Bitcoin futures available and Ethereum futures may be rolled out sooner than we think. Sources close to the application have revealed its plans for a launch. However, they are waiting on additional clarity from the CFTC.

The sources added that CBOE will base the upcoming ether futures on the underlying market of the cryptocurrency platform Gemini, which is owned and operated by the Winklevoss ‘Facebook twins’.

The exchange has been considering Ethereum futures since December last year but due to regulatory issues, the plan was kept on hold.

Back in June, the U.S. SEC declared that Ethereum is a not a security. Following this announcement, CBOE Global Markets president Chris Concannon stated that they are now clear to move forward with Ethereum futures.

Ethereum futures don’t garner widespread support

The announcement of possible Ethereum futures has not caused widespread excitement the way it did with Bitcoin. There are some in the industry who are against the move as they consider Ethereum to be very centralized in ownership.

Preston Byrne tweeted that:

Launching futures contracts on a cryptocurrency where 70% of the coins outstanding were known to be in the hands of fewer than 100 people, which may well have been borne out of an unlawful securities offering, is unacceptable.

At the moment, CBOE is working with the CFTC to ensure that the project gets all necessary clearance before it is launched.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) sticking with Bitcoin (BTC)

CME, which launched its Bitcoin futures last year shortly after CBOE, has revealed that it is not looking to launch any derivative product for other cryptocurrencies.

CME Group’s CEO Terry Duffy explained that the exchange operator is not planning to offer new cryptocurrency-related contracts because of the high volatility.

The comments were in contrast to earlier rumors that the exchange is preparing to launch Ethereum and Litecoin futures.

CME has so far outperformed CBOE in the Bitcoin futures department. Last month, CME released a report on BTC futures average daily volume. The report shows that daily volume has increased by 93 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter of 2018.