TradeStation, Genesis and XBTO Allow Traders to Bet on Micro ETH Futures

TradeStation Securities, the US broker-dealer arm of Japanese financial services giant Monex Group, today said its clients now can trade Micro Ether futures contracts through CME Group.

The announcement comes barely a few hours after the micro contract, sized at one-tenth of one Ether, has made its debut on the world’s largest derivatives marketplace. The new futures product is an attempt to capitalize on Ether’s price rally this year and build upon the successful launch in May of a regular futures contract for the second largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum had a price of $4,360, as of writing, according to industry data aggregator CoinMarketcap. Its market capitalization was roughly $518 billion at that time, which is nearly half of bitcoin’s.

Alongside this, TradeStation traders will still be able to retain the features and benefits of CME Group’s larger-sized Ether futures. The company has been also a day one supporter of CME’s standard Ether futures product, as well as Bitcoin futures.

“Lowering the barrier of entry increases access for retail traders seeking to gain exposure to Ether and manage risk. Following the transition to Ethereum 2.0 earlier this year, which is designed to enhance the speed, efficiency, and scalability of the Ethereum network, we believe that demand in Ether-based futures products may grow,” said John Bartleman, President of TradeStation Group, Inc.

Tailor-made for crypto traders, TradeStation uses global integrations to create a wide pool of liquidity sources that enable better price discovery and transparency. The company also promotes its crypto desk as helping traders avoid lengthy transactions on traditional exchanges, as well as avoid fees charged by other platforms for instant large volume trades.

At one-tenth the size of one Ether, the cash-settled contract provides a cost-effective way for a broad array of market participants to fine-tune their ETH exposure and enhance their trading strategies.

Genesis and XBTO execute first ever Micro Ether futures

Elsewhere, capital markets software provider Genesis said they executed the first ever CME Micro Ether futures contract on the first day of trading the new product. The milestone was made in partnership with XBTO, an institutional market maker and asset manager providing cryptofinance trading and liquidity to cryptocurrency exchanges.

Earlier in September, Genesis executed the first OTC block trade of a BTIC transaction on CME Bitcoin futures with Akuna Capital. Today’s news comes as the digital currency prime brokerage continues to see institutional investors express growing interest in diversifying their crypto portfolio beyond BTC.

“The Micro Ether futures contract fills a need for greater flexibility and more precise delta hedging. Genesis is proud to have executed a trade in Micro Ether futures on Day 1 and continues to be a market leader in offering the most innovative new derivatives products to our clients,” said Joshua Lim, Head of Derivatives.

“XBTO is pleased to have partnered with Genesis to trade the Micro Ether futures contract. The smaller contracts allow more granularity for all market participants.” Added Paul Eisma, Head of Trading.