Dec 1 (Reuters) - CME Group Inc:

* CME GROUP SELF-CERTIFIES BITCOIN FUTURES TO LAUNCH DEC. 18

* CME GROUP INC - HAS SELF-CERTIFIED INITIAL LISTING OF ITS BITCOIN FUTURES CONTRACT TO LAUNCH MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2017

* CME GROUP INC - NEW CONTRACT WILL BE LISTED ON AND SUBJECT TO RULES OF CME

* CME - NEW CONTRACT TO BE AVAILABLE FOR TRADING ON CME GLOBEX ELECTRONIC TRADING PLATFORM & FOR SUBMISSION FOR CLEARING VIA CME CLEARPORT, EFFECTIVE DEC 17

* CME GROUP INC - CME GROUP’S BITCOIN FUTURES WILL BE CASH-SETTLED, BASED ON CME CF BITCOIN REFERENCE RATE

* CME GROUP INC SAYS “HAVE WORKED THROUGH A LENGTHY, COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS WITH CFTC TO GET TO THIS POINT”

* CME GROUP INC SAYS RECOGNIZE BITCOIN IS A NEW, UNCHARTED MARKET THAT WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE

* CME GROUP - AT LAUNCH, NEW CONTRACT WILL BE SUBJECT TO A VARIETY OF RISK MANAGEMENT TOOLS, INCLUDING AN INITIAL MARGIN OF 35 PERCENT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: