Nasdaq-Issued Bitcoin Futures Contracts May Comprise "Investment" Rather Than "Tracking Stock"

The chief executive officer of Nasdaq, Adena Friedman, has discussed the company’s position with regards to the potential bitcoin futures contracts it has previously expressed interest in offering. Although Mrs. Friedman was unable to affirm that the company is definitely planning on launching bitcoin futures contracts, the CEO emphasized Nasdaq’s desire to offer a product differing from the futures offered by CBOE and CME – should the company launch said contracts in the future.

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Mrs. Friedman Confirmed That Nasdaq Is Exploring Offering Bitcoin Futures Contracts

The CEO of Nasdaq has discussed the company’s current position regarding bitcoin futures with media, making comments confirming that Nasdaq is considering the development of bitcoin futures. Despite indicating that the company is currently exploring the possibility of offering bitcoin futures, no mention of a possible timeline for the hypothetical contracts is given, nor a guarantee that the company will definitely issue futures contracts for bitcoin.

Mrs. Friedman told media, “We are continuing to investigate the idea of a cryptocurrency futures (contract) with a partner and we continue to look at the risk management around that, making sure we are putting the right protocols in place, making sure there’s proper demand, and that the contract is different from what’s already out there.”

Nasdaq Expected to Develop Bitcoin Futures Contracts Unique From Those Issued by Rivals

In the interview, Mrs. Friedman also expressed Nasdaq’s desire to develop a product that significantly differed from the futures contracts offered by rivals CBOE and CME. The Nasdaq CEO stated, “What we might look at is more of a total return futures, so it’s a little bit of a different construct,” describing such as likely comprising “more of an investment than a tracking stock.” Mrs. Friedman added, “We will have to see whether it makes sense at the end of the day, proper client demand, and on a risk-management side ‘do we feel confident?,’ in which case we would look to go to the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission).”

Despite the hype surrounding the launch of bitcoin futures contracts issued by mainstream financial institutions, the event so far appears to have signaled that BTC’s dramatic multi-year bull-run was coming to an end. After initially trading at $20,650 USD in December 2017, CME’s January contracts recently settled for $10,900 – comprising a loss of more than 47% from the opening price, and reaping great returns for those who chose to short the contracts close to launch.

Do you think that Nasdaq will decide to issue bitcoin futures contracts? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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