The long-awaited Merge is anticipated to occur right before the release of CME’s new product.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), one of the biggest derivatives markets, revealed plans to introduce options on Ethereum futures on September 12th, subject to regulatory approval.
The launch of the new product coincides with the trading of 1.8 million Ether futures contracts, according to CME Group.
Tim McCourt, the company’s global head of equity and foreign exchange products, noted a demand from market participants to manage Ether price risk as the much-awaited Ethereum Merge drew closer. The executive also stated in a statement
“The launch of these new options contracts builds on the significant growth and deep liquidity we have seen in our existing Ether futures, which have traded more than 1.8 million contracts to date.”
Notably, OTC desks account for a sizable portion of Ether options activity.
On the other hand, the new Ethereum options from CME are anticipated to give clients more flexibility and “precision” to manage investors’ ETH exposure before market-moving events.
Bitcoin derivatives are already available on the derivatives market. It debuted ETH futures four years after launching BTC futures in 2017.
Earlier this year, it also began providing micro-sized Bitcoin and Ethereum options, claiming a rise in investor interest for such products.
Sam Newman, Head of Digital Assets Brokering at TP ICAP, offered support to CME Group in the launch of its full-sized Ether options contract.
“This larger-sized Ether option, in tandem with the already popular Micro Ether option, has been eagerly awaited by TP ICAP’s customers. With the upcoming Ethereum protocol merge, we expect this new contract to see significant interest from both our traditional customers as well as crypto native clients.”