A soon-to-launch cryptocurrency derivatives exchange has raised $4.3 million from major investors such as the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase and the investment firm SV Angel. The exchange Blade is scheduled to launch in three weeks’ time. Blade’s funding and plans come by way of a TechCrunch report on Aug. 12. The report notes that in particular, Blade is aiming to provide trading for cryptocurrency-based perpetual swap contracts with three new improvements. First, the perpetuals contracts will be drawn up using standard, simple contracts. Second, the perpetuals will use Tether’s stablecoin USDT for settlement and margins. Third, trades can be leveraged up …

A company has set out its ambition of becoming the world’s number one exchange for cryptocurrency derivatives — placing an emphasis on fairness, transparency and ease of use for all levels of traders. According to BitOrb, current platforms are too complicated for everyday crypto enthusiasts — with high fees, system performance issues and a lack of regulations occasionally resulting in market manipulation. Despite all of this, the crypto derivatives market is booming — with billions of dollars of trading volume registered every single day. Filling the gap BitOrb plans to focus on futures contracts and says its platform will be …

Are there any downsides of trading crypto derivatives? All trading strategies related to price fluctuations imply a certain level of risk, especially combined with the lack of relevant regulation for the crypto derivatives sector. When it comes to crypto derivatives, the biggest risk that traders face is volatility. Prices can rise and fall at speeds that make your head spin, and losses can be amplified substantially whenever someone is trading on margin. To better help mitigate these risks, a tiered maintenance margin ratio system has been adopted by OKEx to avoid the liquidation of large positions, events that can have …

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino hinted at the maximum leverage for the exchange’s upcoming derivatives trading, in a tweet published on June 24. In the tweet, Ardoino purportedly indicated the maximum leverage for Bitfinex’ forthcoming derivatives trading, which resulted in a heated discussion between community members. In response to the answer whether it will be an isolated leverage, Ardoino said that it will be isolated at the beginning, adding that it is better for risk management. Ardoino also revealed that instruments with high leverage will be used separately from the main margin market limited to 3.3x. He stated: “We …

Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital is expanding its services to offer crypto options contracts trading, industry media outlet The Block reports on June 21. According to the report, Galaxy Digital’s new initiative is made in response to increasing demand from institutional investors in order to hedge the high volatility that is a calling card of crypto assets. Bitcoin (BTC) options are a type of crypto derivative that are a wide-spread method of profiting from a highly volatile market by strategically hedging risks such as reducing portfolio risks, and in turn, losses from trading. Similar to traditional finance, there …

United Kingdom-based interdealer broker TP ICAP will sell bitcoin (BTC) financial derivatives, Bloomberg reports on June 17. Per the report, the ICAP unit of the firm now allows its customers to buy or sell the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) bitcoin futures. In June, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s bitcoin futures will expire with no current plans for renewal, leaving the CME as the sole offerer of BTC futures. TP ICAP also reportedly expects to add non-deliverable forwards tied to the largest cryptocurrency, and then plans to open desks in Asia and the United States. Bloomberg claims that the company took …

The number of open contracts for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) bitcoin (BTC) futures is reportedly at an all-time high, cryptocurrency news outlet Coindesk reported on June 3. According to visible data released by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data, the number of open positions for the aforementioned future contract in the week from May 27 to June 3 is 5,190. Coindesk claims that this is the highest number of open positions that CME’s bitcoin futures have ever reported and a 7% increase over the previous week. Per the report, the recent increase in futures trading activity …

Hester Peirce, commissioner at the United States securities regulator, has urged for a less cautious approach towards innovation in the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) space on the regulator’s part. The Financial Times reported on her remarks on June 2. Per the report, the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Peirce called on her co-commissioners to allow for innovation in the ETF space by lessening their caution. She reportedly commented on the SEC’s approach towards this category of highly regulated financial derivatives, noting that the SEC is “still smothering ETFs with personalised attention as if they were infants.” Peirce also noted that she …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) showed a cautious approach towards cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in comments at the finance committee of the upper house of the National Diet on May 30. Cointelegraph Japan reported on the comments earlier today. Per the report, local politician Takeshi Fujimaki noted during the meeting that he expects a crypto-based ETF to be approved in the United States, citing both positive and negative statements released by United States Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Hester Peirce. He then noted that such a product would be an important development and that Japan should not be left …

A crypto futures exchange says its features mean it is well-positioned to solve current problems that exist among rivals. The team behind FTX claims they were driven to act after “hours of feedback” to established exchanges about the problems with their products went ignored. As a result, the company claims that its platform “reduces the likelihood of clawbacks” through a three-tiered liquidation model — tackling the problem represented by “significant amount of customer funds on other derivatives exchanges that have been claimed by socialized losses.” In a blog post, the exchange explained: “FTX really does see clawbacks as a worst-case …

Arthur Hayes, co-founder and CEO of major crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, has revealed that the firm is hoping to open a cryptocurrency options platform in the medium term. Hayes made his remarks during an interview on the Venture Coinist podcast on April 12. Hayes — a former equities trader for Citigroup — indicated a rough timeline for the prospective launch, stating that: "We hope to possibly have our own options platform in maybe 12 to 18 months." Hayes hinted at aspirations to innovate options listing, saying “we have somebody working with some university professors on a complicated new way of …

Private bank Kleinwort Hambros launched an exchange-traded note (ETN) made up of blockchain-related companies, financial news outlet Finextra reported on April 8. Kleinwort Hambros is owned by Societe Generale, acting as their private wealth management division in the United Kingdom. Societe Generale itself is a multinational investment bank headquartered in Paris, with total assets of around 1.3 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) in 2018. Per the report, the new derivative is available for a minimum investment of £1,000 (equivalent to about $1,300) and has been listed in Luxemburg. The stocks reportedly include 20 companies which are expected to profit from blockchain …