CME executive: Bitcoin ETFs mark the maturity of digital assets

Rage Commentary : Winklevoss Bitcoin Trus and SolidX Bitcoin Trus have applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the listing of Bitcoin trading funds. Although it will take a long time to get approval for listing, it proves that the blockchain-based digital asset market has become increasingly mature. Sandra Ro, executive director of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, pointed out that the two applications reflect the market demand and future trends, and the company has been paying attention to cross-field research around blockchain.

Translation: Annie_Xu

The executive director and head of digitalization at CME Group pointed out that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a sign that the blockchain-based digital asset market is maturing.

At the Tech Talk 5.0 conference in London this week, CME’s Sandra Ro discussed the derivatives market provider’s extensive blockchain exploration, revealed the firm’s new bitcoin benchmark rate, and provided insight into the firm’s expectations for the future of blockchain.

In response to questions from the audience, Ro said she believes the two ETF applications currently under review in the United States are just the beginning. Existing products and applications prove that there is sufficient demand for regulated products in the digital asset field.

“In fact, the most interesting explorations are across the three areas of digital assets, tokenized fiat currencies, and tokenized commodities.”

In addition, Ro pointed out that the company believes that financial institutions and private investors should understand the value of public blockchains, and CME has been focusing on the intersection of digital assets, blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Although Ro believes that Bitcoin is the most mature digital asset, he also pointed out that the future of many other asset classes is still uncertain. For example, the total market value of Steemit, a digital currency based on social networks, has soared in recent days.

The audience vote showed that Bitcoin also has a clear advantage in popularity. 23% of the audience said they hold Bitcoin, while 77% do not. The total number of votes was 79.

PoC Strategy

Ro said CME gave the digitalization team a total of four tasks.

Sandra Ro

The first is part of a three- to five-year long-term strategy. The group has previously worked more on the short term, but will work on a long-term creative implementation strategy. "We want to make an informed forecast of where we want to be in the next three to five years."

Ro said the company is focusing on both project implementation and proof of concept (PoC) development, but the difference is the amount of money and time invested.

CME will only execute a project if the idea is concrete and the company is willing to spend millions of dollars to realize the concept.

Also, due to the high rate of failure experienced, relatively less time and money was spent on proofs of concept.

Ro stressed that the company’s motto for proof-of-concept development is to keep trying and learn quickly.

Internet finance participation

Ro concluded by describing how CME is working with new and existing players to shape the future of Internet finance.

For example, CME is trying to change its internal intellectual property management methods to enhance cooperation with new participants.

Ro believes that CME's original patented technology can no longer keep up with the evolving Internet financial community.

As for the company’s internal blockchain exploration, Ro said the company is involved in the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project and the Post-Trade Distributed Ledger Group (PTDL).