Digital assets platform ErisX, which is backed by TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, is the first regulated futures trading platform to launch Ether futures contracts in the US
US users and investors can now take to the regulated crypto derivatives exchange, ErisX, to trade Ether futures contracts.
According to the platform, investors wishing to invest in the ETH futures product will have their contracts physically settled, meaning they will receive actual Ether as opposed to payout in fiat equivalent.
In the notice published on May 11, the Chicago-based crypto provider informed its community of users that the offering provides for ETH USD futures contracts for both institutional and individual investors. The first purchase and trading will be available from May through September.
ErisX CEO Thomas Chippas said that the product is out of the platform’s belief that offering regulated products like the futures contracts will benefit the “Ethereum blockchain community and broader capital markets.”
“Our contract sizes are accessible for any investor while our technology stack and regulatory framework meet institutional expectations,” he added.
The exchange also noted that the offering gives miners, speculators, and hedge funds the product that could add to how they benefit from access to a “robust, liquid and resilient” market. Here, investors can count on the millions of users on the Ethereum blockchain, including from speculators, and other commercial users.
Investors will buy and sell the futures contracts on ErisX’s own platform and will be available on a monthly and quarterly basis.
ErisX has the approval it needs to offer this product from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The platform was registered and approved as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) in July 2019.
The CFTC nod gave it the license the exchange needed to offer crypto futures contracts. The company’s foray into crypto derivatives products started when it unveiled its Bitcoin (BTC) futures in December. But the uptake of the product has been lacklustre with volumes barely hitting notable levels.
The launch of the ETH futures could prove a different story, although the platform could still see its bitcoin product pick up. Rival Bakkt, operated by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), struggled to attract numbers when it launched but has since seen its daily volumes shoot to average over 2,000 trades.
CFTC’s approval of the ETH futures strengthens the view that Ethereum, like Bitcoin, is not a security token but a commodity.