The Crypto Roundup: 17 May 2024 | CryptoCompare.com

The Crypto Roundup: 17 May 2024 | CryptoCompare.com

Source Node: 2579212

The world’s leading futures exchange CME Group, is planning to launch spot trading for Bitcoin, capitalizing on the surging interest from Wall Street money managers in the cryptocurrency.

The Chicago-based exchange has been in talks with traders seeking a regulated platform to buy and sell Bitcoin, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

This move, which hasn’t been finalized,  follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January, which have attracted investment from Wall Street giants including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

Other large investors, including hedge funds like Bracebridge Capital and pension funds like the Wisconsin Investment Board, have also poured billions into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Offering spot trading alongside existing Bitcoin futures contracts would allow investors to engage in basis trades, a common strategy for professional traders, in which traders sell futures contracts while buying the underlying asset – in this case Bitcoin – to profit off of the small gap between both.

CME, an exchange catering to large hedge funds and proprietary traders, emerged as the largest Bitcoin futures market over the renewed institutional interest in the cryptocurrency space.

The proposed spot trading operation would be run via the EBS currency trading platform in Switzerland, known for its comprehensive regulatory framework overseeing the trade and custody of cryptocurrency assets.

Time Stamp:

More from CryptoCompare