Dave Lerman: The launch of Ether futures

On February 8, CME Group launched Ether futures ‒ the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap. Day one volume reached approximately 400 contracts, with 55 unique participating accounts and active participation amongst bank and non-bank FCMs. Trades occurred in three contract expirations – February, March, and April ‒ with 24 contracts being traded as a spread and 20 contracts being executed as a block trade. Day one participation was balanced, with 60% of the volume executed during regular trading hours (between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and 40% of the volume was customer paper. We look forward to seeing where Ether futures leads us in the coming months.