The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved the application of LedgerX LLC for designation as a contract market, according to an announcement published on June 25. LedgerX — a U.S.-based regulated crypto derivatives and clearing platform — can operate as a designated contract market (DCM) as of June 24, 2019. The company’s activities will be registered under Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Part 38 of the CFTC’s regulations. Registration as a DCM will require that LedgerX maintain compliance with all applicable provisions of the CEA and CFTC regulations. “LedgerX has requested that the …

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 …

United States-regulated crypto derivatives and clearing platform LedgerX is eyeing the launch of a physically-settled bitcoin (BTC) futures contract, the company confirmed to Cointelegraph on April 16. LedgerX, which is overseen by the U.S. Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), has applied for a designated contract market license that would allow it to launch the new futures product. Whereas the BTC futures contracts currently listed on CME are ultimately settled in fiat, a physically-settled version would see traders paid out in bitcoin upon contracts’ expiration. According to LedgerX co-founder Juthica Chou, the license application — reportedly first filed in November 2018 …

Year-to-date, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 40% against the United States dollar, and other major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Litecoin have also demonstrated strong gains in the past four months. Performance of crypto assets in the past month. Source: coin360.io Litecoin, for instance, recorded a staggering 208% increase in value since January — outperforming most crypto assets apart from a handful, including Binance Coin and Enjin Coin. From April 1 to April 3, based on CoinMarketCap data, the price of Bitcoin surged from $4,100 to $5,041, by around 22% against the U.S. dollar. After experiencing a slight …

Kelly Loeffler, the CEO of institutional trading platform Bakkt, announced that former cybersecurity expert at IBM, Cisco and Endgame Tom Noonan will become the chairman of its board of directors. The development was reported in a Medium post published on March 29. Per the announcement, the founder, chairman and CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Jeff Sprecher is also joining the board of directors of the company. Alongside him, the post further welcomes Softbank managing partner Akshay Naheta and managing partner at Goldfinch Partners Sean Collins to the board. Loeffler notes …

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has said the agency’s fintech innovation hub LabCFTC is the regulator’s internal stakeholder in a landscape of exponential technological change and market evolution. Giancarlo made his remarks during his last appearance as CFTC chairman before the 44th Annual International Futures Industry Conference on March 14, in an address entitled “Improving the Past, Tackling the Present, and Advancing to a Digital Market Future.” Giancarlo is expected to be replaced this year by the U.S. president’s nominee for the CFTC chairmanship, Heath Tarbert, assuming the latter’s confirmation. In his remarks, Giancarlo …

United Kingdom-based crypto exchange and futures provider Crypto Facilities has significantly increased its trading volumes after being acquired by crypto exchange Kraken, according to the information shared with Cointelegraph Tuesday, Mar. 5. Cointelegraph spoke to Sui Chung, head of cryptocurrency pricing products at Crypto Facilities, according to whom the platform’s trading volumes have increased more than 500 percent. Chung said that company’s average daily trading volume was around $7 million per day in January. However, following the acquisition announcement, it has increased to $32 million per day in February, reaching up to $110 million one day that month. Chung linked …

Blockchain startup Digitex Futures is ready to launch its commission-free futures exchange. The platform is planning to add traditional futures markets — including forex, metals, commodities and indexes — to crypto options in order to attract different groups of traders. One of the goals of the new startup is to fill the gap that Digitex sees in the exchange market. The company notes that regulated exchanges offer high security, together with high fees. Smaller platforms are cheaper for traders but riskier, as they are more attractive for crypto criminals. For example, in January 2019, New Zealand exchange Cryptopia was attacked, …

Bakkt, the cryptocurrency platform created by the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced that they are hiring for a number of high-up positions in a tweet Jan. 22. The Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) much-awaited crypto platform published a list of eight evidently new vacancies at the company, all of which are based in Atlanta and New York City. Some of the positions also have Hong Kong, Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Tel Aviv and Singapore listed as available locations. The page specifies that the company is mostly trying to hire a number of developers, mostly at director and senior …

Ed Tilly, CEO, president and chairman at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), declared that there is a need for Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in order for Wall Street institutional investors to join the crypto space. Financial newspaper Business Insider reported on Tilly’s comments on Jan.18. According to the aforementioned article, Tilly declared that “the growth of Bitcoin in listed markets is still hamstrung by the lack of a trading product geared toward mom-and-pop investors.” According to him, Bitcoin futures did not see substantial growth because of the lack of a note or tracker tied to BTC that retail …

The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced an update on the launch of the Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Daily Futures Contract in an official notice Dec. 31. The document from ICE — the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and creator of digital assets platform Bakkt — states that “[f]ollowing consultation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC], ICE Futures U.S., Inc. expects to provide an updated launch timeline in early 2019 for the trading, clearing and warehousing” of Bakkt’s Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract. The document reiterated that previously the firm had been targeting Jan. 24, 2019 as a launch date, …

The crypto market has been brutalizing of late – but many traders don’t realize that there is a plethora of financial instruments out there. Each offer investors a new way to back crypto, without relying on the highs and lows of cryptocurrency prices in an erratic and volatile market. But what are these alternatives – and are they really everything they’re cracked up to be? In many cases, some of the new products emerging in the crypto market are iterations of services that have existed in the old-fashioned financial world for years. Bonds are a good example. These have been …