Crypto Facilities, a UK-based cryptocurrency futures exchange has introduced the first-ever Bitcoin Cash futures contract. Up until now, Bitcoin futures contracts were seen as a norm, but for the first time ever, investors will now be able to buy Bitcoin Cash futures contracts. These contracts will allow users to bet on the future price movement of Bitcoin Cash, allowing them to also hedge risk in their portfolios.
Bitcoin Cash futures contract went live at 4 PM on Friday, the 17th of August. Investors can take the position of ‘long’ or ‘short’ trading in this BitcoinCash-Dollar futures contract. Crypto Facilities is a partner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and was also involved in the launch of their first ever Bitcoin Futures contracts in December 2017. In addition to Bitcoin Futures and Bitcoin Cash Futures, Crypto Facilities also offers Ripple XRP, Ether and Litecoin futures contracts.
As per their press release, the company believes that Bitcoin Cash is one of the most popular currencies in the market and has become a stable part of the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap over the past year. With this new product, the company now allows investors to invest their money in a more custom and flexible way. Commenting on the launch of their latest product, Timo Schlaefer, the CEO of Crypto Facilities said:
“We are pleased to be expanding our cryptocurrency derivatives offering with the launch of BitcoinCash futures. BCH is a top five coin with a market capitalisation of around $10 billion* and we expect our new contracts to spur the evolution of the crypto markets by bringing greater liquidity and transparency to the digital asset class.”
Interestingly, while the cryptocurrency markets are suffering due to price volatility and are facing a shrinking market cap, companies such as Crypto Facilities continue to thrive. Trace volume had increased by 84% between Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 for Crypto Facilities and the CEO expects Q2 volumes to be double that of Q1.
Bitcoin Cash, which celebrated its first year of existence on the 1st of August this year, has had several ups and downs over the short duration. However, this news comes as another step towards validity for the community which claims that they are the original Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash has been making significant progress over the past few months. A recently developed protocol will soon allow hosting ICOs on the Bitcoin Cash network.
While there’s unity, there’s also dissent. The BCH community has apparently been split over pre-consensus, which was claimed as the original promise behind Bitcoin Cash. Those disputes aside, the introduction of futures contracts is indeed a positive news for the community at large.
Roger Ver, a controversial name in the crypto-community, and an advisor to the Bitcoin Cash Association commented on the launch of Bitcoin Cash futures contracts, saying:
“This is another example of how Bitcoin Cash is proving itself to be one of the most innovative and useful cryptocurrencies in the world.”