Ethereum futures contracts are finally coming? CFTC chairman expresses willingness to approve

Heath Tarbert, chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said we may see Ethereum futures contracts sometime next year.

Tarbert recently spoke about Ethereum at the DC Fintech Week event, saying:

“I would say you’re probably going to see ethereum futures contracts in the next six months to a year.”

“What kind of volume will there be for Ethereum futures contracts? I don’t know, that’s for the market to decide, but my guess is that now that we’ve at least provided more information (on whether Ethereum is eligible for futures contracts), my guess is that market participants will consider it.”

Earlier this month, the CFTC chairman said he considered Ethereum to be a commodity like Bitcoin. Regarding how the new contract will be launched, Tarbert said:

“Now, most people don’t self-certify, and when they come to us, especially if they’re creating a brand new exchange and DCO (derivatives clearing organization), so I think a lot of it depends on who is the person that wants to do this contract. Is it one of the existing exchanges that the CFTC has been working with for years? Or is it a brand new platform that’s specifically dedicated to Ethereum futures contracts?”

Then, on the issue of ethereum futures contract pricing, he added: “Our job in the market for the last 150 years has been to make sure there is adequate price transparency.”

Then when asked about the question of how many cryptocurrency futures contracts there would be, the CFTC chairman took a step back and said:

“As the SEC works through its work and we work through our work with other regulators, it’s likely that we’ll see more, but I can’t tell you it’s going to be quick because just thinking about the two contracts, bitcoin and ethereum, we’re spending a lot of time working out some of the kinks.”

At the end of 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) obtained approval from the CFTC to launch Bitcoin futures contracts, opening the first door for mainstream investors to invest in Bitcoin.

After nearly two years, the futures contract of Ethereum, which ranks second in market value, is "about to be released". In fact, as early as the end of 2018, people familiar with the matter claimed that CBOE was preparing to launch Ethereum futures and was waiting for CFTC approval. In July this year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) adjusted the reference exchange rate and index related to Ethereum. Sources said that this may mean that CME will launch Ethereum futures trading, and they must improve the robustness of their index.

Relevant people said that Ethereum futures contracts are an important step towards the maturity of Ethereum and may also pave the way for the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).