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A major milestone in crypto occurred earlier this week - the first U.S. Bitcoin futures began trading on an exchange run by Cboe. The futures rose 11% within the first 6 minutes, amidst much speculation and even a trading halt.
Bitcoin has been the best-performing asset in financial markets in 2017. The launch of bitcoin futures comes as a confluence of economic, financial and cultural developments has spurred a rise of more than 1,500% this year in the price of the digital currency. But the futures’ launch has cast a spotlight on the market’s shaky foundations. Bitcoin exchanges were plagued with glitches in recent weeks, even as the price of the virtual currency soared to records—passing $17,000 on Thursday, from just $968.23 at the start of the year, according to CoinDesk. For their futures products, Cboe and CME are betting that a handful of bitcoin exchanges are sufficiently reliable and trustworthy to support a derivatives market.
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