Ethereum Price Indexes Launched By CME Group

Announcements, News | May 15, 2018 By:

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) has formed a partnership with UK-based digital asset exchange Crypto Facilities to launch two new ethereum price products.

CME Group, a financial market company operating an options and futures exchange in Chicago and London, is launching its Ether Reference Rate, which will provide a daily benchmark price in US dollars at 4 pm London time, and Ether Real Time Index, which will allow users access to a real-time ether price in US dollars. Both reference rates will be calculated by Crypto Facilities, and will be based on transactions and order book activity from crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Kraken.

The reference rates are already available on CME Group and Crypto Facilities websites and will be distributed on the CME Group Market Data Platform beginning June 4. The reference rates will be monitored by the Bitcoin Oversight Committee, which will consist of Crypto Facilities, CME Group, as well as other cryptocurrency experts. They will regularly review the methodology, practices and standards to protect the integrity of the reference rates.

Tim McCourt, Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Products and Alternative Investments at CME Group, said that the Ether Reference Rate and Real Time Index are designed to meet the evolving needs of the ethereum marketplace.

“Providing price transparency and a credible price reference source is a key development for users of ethereum,” said McCourt.

The launch of the reference rates signals CME Group’s growing commitment to the crypto space. In December 2017, CME Group created futures contracts for bitcoin, a year after launching the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) and the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index (BRTI).

Last week, Crypto Facilities, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, introduced the “first regulated” futures contracts for ethereum. The company said the products will enable market participants to take a long or short position on the cryptocurrency, allowing them to broaden investment opportunities and manage risks more effectively.