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Bitcoin futures began going live in the Asian market early Monday morning, and they could change the game for cryptocurrencies. The new futures can be monitored on CNBC.com here.
Bookmaker now accepting most forms of crypto-currencies
The crypto-currency has seen its value increase by more than 1000 percent during 2017 alone. Launching bitcoin futures at the Cboe gives the digital currency some legitimacy it in the eyes of institutional investors.
The digital currency was at $14,890 right at 6 p.m. New York time and then surged about $600 to $15,500.13 as of 7:17 p.m. on the Coinbase exchange. Late last week the price hit just over $18,000.
The new futures were up 2.6 percent to $15,860 on the Cboe in very early trading. They also turned negative for a brief moment at about 6:55 p.m, CNBC reported.
Crypto-currencies now account for as much as 40% of all gambling transactions at some online gambling sites operating in so-called “grey markets”.
"So far, trading has been smooth. I think that was the biggest worry for people" heading into the launch, said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. "We've been trading for about an hour and more than 700 contracts have been traded. So, I'd say this is a successful launch.”
The futures platform now allows institutional investors to join individual entrepreneurs in trading Bitcoin.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
