Sources Indicate Nasdaq Plans to Launch Bitcoin (BTC) Futures Contracts by Early 2019 10

Sources Indicate Nasdaq Plans to Launch Bitcoin (BTC) Futures Contracts by Early 2019

Amidst the current decline of Bitcoin there is some good news as sources indicate that Nasdaq Inc. is moving ahead with plans to launch Futures contracts based on BTC. According to Bloomberg, two sources familiar with the matter have stated that the firm has shown continual interest in the investment products despite the bear market conditions from earlier this year.

Bloomberg went on to explain the following information that was provided by their sources:

Nasdaq has been working to satisfy the concerns of the U.S.’s main swaps regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), before launching the contracts.

The New York exchange operator, which was first reported to be eyeing Bitcoin futures last year, wants to allow trading in the first quarter of 2019.

Nasdaq’s Plans for Bitcoin Futures Date back to December 2017

Nasdaq Inc. had been noted back in December 2017 as having plans of listing Bitcoin Futures contracts. This was around the same time the CME Group and CBOE announced plans of listing BTC futures contracts the same month on the 17th.

However, Nasdaq was keen on distinguishing its contracts from those already in the markets. According to Bloomberg, the Nasdaq contracts will be based off the price of BTC on numerous spot exchanges as compiled by VanEck Associates Corp. In comparison, the CME Group uses prices from four markets for its BTC futures contracts while CBOE only uses one.

Impact on the Crypto and Traditional Markets

The possibility of Nasdaq listing Bitcoin futures contracts will be a plus for the King of Crypto. Such a move will prove that BTC is becoming an institutional asset. The past year has seen interest in Bitcoin expand to not only individual investors, but by the firms on Wall Street. Perhaps with VanEck providing the pricing data for the Nasdaq futures, we might see the SEC inclined to consider the pending ETF sponsored by the same firm.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of Nasdaq launching their Bitcoin Futures contracts next year? Please let us know in the comment section below.