In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Giovanni Vicioso, the executive director of equity and alternative products at the CME Group, revealed that the upcoming launch of euro-denominated Bitcoin and Ether futures products could have a positive impact on institutional cryptocurrency adoption in the eurozone. Vicioso also mentioned that these futures products have garnered interest from macro hedge funds, small asset managers, and long-term crypto investors.
CME, a prominent derivatives marketplace that operates four exchanges, is expanding its cryptocurrency derivatives offerings by introducing euro-denominated Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures products. These new products are scheduled to be launched on March 18. Vicioso explained that the introduction of these euro-denominated products essentially creates a de facto foreign exchange contract, which is expected to attract more market participants.
The approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States on January 11 has generated significant interest in Bitcoin-based exchange-traded products (ETPs). Excluding the converted Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ETF, the nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $2 billion in combined daily volume for the second consecutive day on February 28.
According to Vicioso, the anticipation and regulatory approval of these US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have resulted in an increase in institutional interest in Bitcoin. He noted that the CME’s average daily Bitcoin trading volume has nearly doubled, rising from $1.6 billion in 2023 to over $3 billion in 2024.
As of 1:15 pm UTC, Bitcoin’s price had fallen by 0.62% to $62,383 over the past 24 hours. However, the cryptocurrency has experienced a weekly gain of 22.50%.
In related news, the US government moved $922 million of seized Bitcoin after the price of BTC broke $60,000.