Bitfinex Launches Tether-Settled Perpetual Contracts Based on European Equities
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has launched tether (USDT)-settled perpetual contracts that track two European equity market indices.
- Perpetual contracts on Europe 50 (EUROPE50IXF0: USTF0) and Germany 30 (GERMANY30IXF0: USTF0) will go live at 09:00 UTC on Monday, the firm said in a press release.
- Each contract offers up to 100x leverage and will be settled in stablecoin tether (USDT).
- A perpetual contract is similar to a traditional futures contract, but has no expiry and mimics a margin-based spot market.
- The STOXX Europe 50 includes 50 stocks from 18 European countries and provides a blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the region.
- Meanwhile, the German 30 or DAX 30 is a stock index that represents 30 of the largest and most liquid German companies that trade on the Frankfurt Exchange.
- “This is the first time that an exchange from the digital asset space has launched a product that bridges the gap with traditional stock markets, representing a significant milestone in the evolution of crypto as an established asset class,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex Derivatives.
- Using tether – a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a value of per token – will facilitate settlement in cross-asset class trading strategies, hedging and risk management, Ardoino added.
- The perpetual contracts will be open for trading 24/7, unlike equity exchanges which are open for business for a limited number of hours, five days a week.
- As such, traditional market investors may turn to Bitfinex’s perpetual swaps on data- or event-heavy weekends for price discovery ahead of Monday’s opening bell.
- “Over the weekend, we may reasonably expect lower volumes than on weekdays in the normal course of a business unless there are significant economic developments over the weekend, such as a central bank policy shift, etc,” Bitfinex told CoinDesk in an email.
- The exchange will aim to ensure price stability by putting a +/-5% cap on the final mark price from 4:30 PM UTC until 8:00 AM UTC on the following day.
