Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange LedgerX has been given green light to offer physically-delivered Bitcoin futures contracts by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The US regulator has recently approved its application for designation as a contract market that was filed back in November 2018.
Eying retail investors
According to Bloomberg, will start trading new futures contracts this July. At first, they will only be available for those traders who are able to shell out $10,000.
However, by the end of 2019, there will be no minimum deposit requirements for their customers.
LedgerX, which currently works with institutional clients, will not target the retail sector. Mom-and-pop investors represent the lion’s share of the cryptocurrency market, but they never had an opportunity to deal with Bitcoin derivatives in the US (apart from crypto-oriented hedge funds).
Hence, there’s a lot of opportunities for the New York-based startup.
The license will allow retail to directly invest, and they will represent the majority of the market. Retail investors are the ones that drove Bitcoin to this level,” LedgerX’s CTO Paul Chou claims.
Bakkt is coming
As reported by U.Today, ICE-backed Bakkt is also expected to start testing its physically-settled Bitcoin futures in July.
That event is expected to serve as another major catalyst for Bitcoin’s price growth.
Physically-settled Bitcoin futures (unlike those that are cash-settled) allow investors to receive payouts directly in Bitcoin instead of the cash equivalents upon the contract’s expiration date.
