Bitcoin exchanges partner with CME Group to launch trading benchmark tools

Derivatives marketplace CME Group revealed two new products they are launching.

CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR), which will provide a final settlement price in U.S. dollars at 4 pm London time on each trading day, and CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index (RTI), which will allow users real-time access to bitcoin prices.

CME Group is a derivatives marketplace that has a wide range of benchmark products across major asset classes, including futures and options. CME Group has its CME Globex derivatives trading platform and also operates clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives.

In a CME Group press release, they said:

The BRR will aggregate the trade flow of major bitcoin spot exchanges during a specific calculation window into a once-a-day, transparent reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin.

The RTI will be calculated by Crypto Facilities and will be based on global demand to buy and sell bitcoin aggregated into a consolidated order book. It will reflect the current market price of bitcoin in U.S. dollar terms and will be published approximately once every second.

CME Group has partnered with several bitcoin exchanges to make this happen. In partnership the exchanges that are working with them and providing data are Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Coinbase, Genesis Global Trading, itBit, and Kraken.

Bitstamp was recently was granted a license to be a fully regulated and licensed exchange in the EU. Bitstamp CEO Nejc Kodric, said in regards to the new partnership,

“An independent, transparent bitcoin reference rate will further professionalize the asset class. We are excited to be a participating exchange.”

itBit’s VP of Product Kevin Wang also had this to say about the new partnership,

“We are excited to work with the CME and Crypto Facilities on what we expect will be a leading Bitcoin index.”

The BRR will aggregate the trade flow of major bitcoin exchanges during a specific calculation window into a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin. The new benchmarks will be used as bitcoin price reference points in derivatives that help manage the risk of bitcoin investments.

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David Shares

David is a writer, researcher, and developer who is passionate about bitcoin and blockchain. He writes for Bitcoin.com, Blockchain.com, and is the founder of Bitcoinx.io (which was acquired by Bitcoin.com). David previously used to write and curate for Myspace and has worked in the fintech and payments space for over 15 years.

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