CME launches Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures, taking its single-asset crypto lineup to 11

CME Group launched Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Uniswap (UNI) futures on Oct. 19, offering each in a standard size and a Micro contract one-tenth as large, for four new contracts in total. The additions bring the number of single-asset cryptocurrency futures listed at CME to 11.

CME announced the Oct. 19 launch in a Sept. 22 press release, saying it was "pending regulatory review." The tickers are BCA for standard Bitcoin Cash futures, MCH for Micro Bitcoin Cash, UNI for standard Uniswap futures and MUN for Micro Uniswap.

Micro Bitcoin Cash prints the first trades

As of 6:36 a.m. Central Time on Oct. 19 (8:36 p.m. KST), CME's quotes page showed 60 Micro Bitcoin Cash October contracts traded, with a last price of $278.20 and an opening price of $277.85. The standard Bitcoin Cash contract had recorded no volume at that time. CME market data is delayed by at least 10 minutes.

At Binance prices as of 8:38 p.m. KST on Oct. 19, a standard Bitcoin Cash contract ($276.80 per coin) is worth about $69,200 and a Micro contract about $6,920. A standard Uniswap contract ($7.337 per token) is worth about $73,370 and a Micro contract about $7,340.

Cash-settled, trading around the clock

According to CME's contract specifications, Bitcoin Cash futures are financially settled, with no delivery of actual coins. The minimum price fluctuation is $0.10 per BCH, or $25 per standard contract. Trading in each month's contract terminates at 4 p.m. London time on the last Friday of the contract month. Six consecutive monthly contracts are listed, followed by quarterly contracts (March, June, September, December) for four additional quarters.

The contracts trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for maintenance windows from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Central Time on Saturdays and for two minutes from 4 p.m. on weekdays. Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) trading is also available, and all four contracts are block-eligible, meaning large privately negotiated trades can be registered with the exchange.

Bitcoin Cash jumped 29% on announcement day. Where it stands now

CME has also added Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche and Sui futures this year. In the September release, the company said those five products had contributed more than $1 billion in notional value year-to-date, and that average daily volume in its crypto futures and options reached 279,800 contracts ($8.3 billion notional) in the first half. Giovanni Vicioso, CME's global head of cryptocurrency products, said market participants need broader, regulated tools to manage risk as he introduced the Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap contracts.

Based on Binance daily candles (UTC), Bitcoin Cash rose 29.1% on the Sept. 22 announcement day, from $267.30 to $345.10, while Uniswap climbed 13.7%, from $8.996 to $10.226. On the evening of the Oct. 19 launch, Bitcoin Cash traded at $276.80 and Uniswap at $7.337, roughly 20% and 28% below their announcement-day closes, respectively.

Prices on Upbit and Bithumb, and the kimchi premium

Both coins trade in the Korean won markets of Upbit and Bithumb. At 8:38 p.m. KST on Oct. 19, Bitcoin Cash traded at 372,000 won and Uniswap at 9,860 won on Upbit, compared with 371,200 won and 9,770 won on Bithumb. Against Binance prices converted into won, the kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) on Upbit stood at about +0.81% for Bitcoin Cash and about +0.77% for Uniswap.

At the same time, open interest (outstanding positions not yet closed) in Binance perpetual futures was about 289,746 BCH for Bitcoin Cash and about 22.85 million UNI for Uniswap. Funding rates, which are exchanged between long and short positions every eight hours, were close to zero at -0.0026% for Bitcoin Cash and +0.0091% for Uniswap.