wry Posted July 4, 2019 #1 Posted July 4, 2019 ....why this is a big deal While this did not make major headlines, like good old Facebook coin, this news item signals a significant change. As most of you know futures on Bitcoin have been offered since late 2017. This allowed traders to speculate easily on the price of Bitcoin. Sadly, the price direction was largely down until recently. However, these futures were only allowed to be settled in cash. So no Bitcoin ever actually moved, it was just a bet between traders on what the price would do. The latest ruling by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) clears the way for ErisX to offer its futures market and it will allow settlement in physical bitcoin! So now, actual Bitcoin, may, but not always, be demanded by the futures traders for settlement. This means it is no longer just a bet on the price of bitcoin but a way to actually buy and sell Bitcoin. Until now physical settlement had not been allowed because the CFTC was not convinced that any Wall Street firm could hold Bitcoin safely, so called "custodial services". So this is another move forward on the development of the Bitcoin infrastructure and ecosystem. So minor story, but signals a big change! Link:  https://www.coindesk.com/td-ameritrade-backed-erisx-gets-green-light-to-settle-futures-in-bitcoin
3kpk3 Posted July 4, 2019 #2 Posted July 4, 2019 Now that is some great news right there op. This whole futures drama has always led to something bad or nothing at all majority of the time in the past which is why it is good to see something positive coming out of this at last.
williamshennie9 Posted July 5, 2019 #3 Posted July 5, 2019 This seems like a great piece of new for the sustainability of bitcoin's future. The fact that another payment method (paying with actual bitcoins) is being introduced, it should increase the trade volume, thus making the futures more trade-able. Great news if you ask me!
barbaris Posted July 5, 2019 #4 Posted July 5, 2019 It's good. Such news and actions will be well reflected in Bitcoin. This year I hear a lot of good news for bitcoin and it makes me happy. I want this currency to be generally accepted and available in most countries and in the areas of services and trade. And I hope that the manipulation of the price when it stops.
wry Posted August 1, 2019 Author #5 Posted August 1, 2019 In an UPDATE to this story, apparently the launch of the physical settlement futures did NOT happen on schedule: https://www.coindesk.com/what-happened-why-the-first-us-physical-bitcoin-futures-contracts-havent-launched It gets worse, apparently the company CEO just resigned as well, does not look good.
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