CME Group launches micro Ether futures as ETH hovers at $4K

Major derivatives marketplace Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group has expanded its crypto offerings to include a micro Ether futures product.

In a Monday announcement, the CME Group said it had launched a micro Ether (ETH) futures contract sized at 0.1 ETH, giving institutional and individual traders another product for Ether exposure. The cash-settled micro ETH derivatives offering is trading under the Globex code METZ1 and joins crypto derivatives products at the exchange including micro Bitcoin (BTC) futures, Bitcoin futures, options on Bitcoin futures, and Ether futures.

The newest member of the CME Group cryptocurrency product family has arrived. Micro Ether futures are available for trading. https://t.co/bJoZWA7qZz

— CME Group (@CMEGroup) December 6, 2021

Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of alternative investment products, said the offering would allow investors “to hedge their spot Ether price risk or more nimbly execute Ether trading strategies.” Genesis Global Trading, one of the liquid providers for CME Group’s crypto derivatives offerings, said it had already executed a contract for the micro ETH futures product in partnership with crypto investment firm XBTO.

“The Micro Ether futures contract fills a need for greater flexibility and more precise delta hedging,” said Joshua Lim, Genesis’ head of derivatives.

Related: Kelly Strategic Management files for Ethereum futures ETF

The announcement came following the price of ETH and many cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin falling significantly over the weekend. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the ETH price has dropped more than 15% since hitting an all-time high of $4,785 on Nov. 8. At the time of publication, the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is $4,016, having fallen more than 13% in the last seven days.

CME Group first launched its Bitcoin futures contracts in December 2017 amid the major bull run. The exchange’s micro Bitcoin futures product launched in May, with the company reporting on Dec. 2 it traded more than 3.3 million contracts.