CFTC Approves Bitnomial Exchange for US Bitcoin Futures and Options Trading with Margin and Physical Delivery

CHICAGO, April 20, 2020: Bitnomial Exchange has been approved to operate a US futures and options exchange as a designated contract market (DCM) by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Bitnomial will list margined and physically delivered Bitcoin futures and options, the first and only startup exchange to achieve these capabilities.

The approval allows Bitnomial to tackle a confluence of generational shifts in financial markets: First, a new generation of customers are emerging as savvy with trading, technology, and delivery. Second, innovative new unregulated derivatives are booming with daily volumes topping $45B but may be illegal for many US traders. And third, the US futures market system is calcified by legacy structures and monopolies and has struggled to connect with these new growth areas.

Bitnomial’s new technology and products open these new growth areas to US customers, under US jurisdiction, and on our US exchange while mitigating costly jurisdictional and counter-party risks. “We are building the Bitcoin Product Complex, a suite of interrelated financial products, starting with quarterly Bitcoin futures, micro futures, and options. Additionally, our products initially trade on 37% margin and are settled on-chain instead of book entry,” said Bitnomial Founder and CEO, Luke Hoersten. Bitnomial is coordinating User Acceptance Testing for trading and delivery starting on April 27, 2020 and customers may sign up on our website to participate at bitnomial.com.

Peter Johnson, who leads crypto investing for Jump Capital, said “Bitcoin derivatives are a fast- growing segment of the crypto market but physically settled Bitcoin derivatives are still largely inaccessible to most US traders. Bitnomial Exchange enables US traders to gain bitcoin exposure in a safe, regulatory compliant, and capital efficient manner. These products are also reliably tied to the underlying asset price via the option for physical delivery. We’re excited to be partners with a company that is committed to meeting the highest regulatory standards and increasing the accessibility of crypto derivatives to US traders.”

The Bitnomial team is extremely grateful for the support of our investors, including Jump Capital, Coinbase Ventures, DV Chain, RRE Ventures, Digital Currency Group, ValueStream Ventures, Indicator Fund, and our individual investors.

We are building towards our vision of democratized US derivatives market access and creating the technical infrastructure needed to connect the cryptocurrency industry with the traditional financial system.