CME, CF Benchmarks, Add APAC Crypto Products

CME Group and CF Benchmarks have announced plans to launch two APAC-specific reference rates for Bitcoin and Ether on 11 September to provide a once-a-day reference rate for the dollar price of the two digital assets.

The non-tradable reference rates, which will be published at 4pm Singapore time, will complement the existing reference rates), published at 4pm London time, as well as the recently introduced New York rates, published at 4pm EST. The 4pm London reference rates will continue to serve as the benchmark rates for settlement of all CME futures and micro futures on Bitcoin and Ether.

“These new reference rates are designed to meet the ever-evolving needs of global participants in the growing digital asset space,” says Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group. “Year-to-date, 37% of total crypto volume at CME Group has been traded during non-US hours, with 11% of trades coming from the APAC region. As we continue to see more institutional clients use our Bitcoin and Ether futures products in active portfolios or structured products like ETFs, these APAC reference rates will allow market participants to more accurately and precisely hedge cryptocurrency price risk with timing more closely aligned to their portfolios.”

Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, adds, “As variants these benchmarks will be calculated and administered to the same exacting standards enjoyed by their existing London and New York counterparts, which have done so much to build investor and institutional confidence in crypto financial products.”