The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) introduced specifications for bitcoin options, the launch of which is expected in the first quarter of 2020.

Get ready for the launch of options on Bitcoin futures in Q1 2020. See contract specifications now: https://t.co/iI1Yi0csGW pic.twitter.com/4UPH5kKsHH

– CMEGroup (@CMEGroup) October 30, 2019

The site says that the new tools will be calculated and based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate ( BRR ) – the reference bitcoin rate against the US dollar, compiled according to the spot exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit, Kraken and Gemini.

As well as for futures, 1 contract will correspond to 5 BTC. Options will be of European type – unlike American ones, they cannot be exercised until the end of the validity (maturity). The minimum price step is 5 index points, corresponding to $ 25.

“We are working on the launch of options based on existing futures ,” said Tim McCourt, Managing Director of CME. – Such options for bitcoin futures can be of two main types – call and put. They imply the right, but not the obligation, to respectively buy or sell the underlying contracts at the end of their term.

According to McCourt, the expiration period of the options will coincide with the expiration of the underlying monthly bitcoin futures. The hours of trading options and futures will be similar.

However, before launching the tools, some of the specifications may change. Now CME Group is coordinating a new tool with regulators. Apparently, the exact option launch date depends on the latter.

Earlier, BlockchainJournal reported that earlier CME will launch the bitcoin options regulated platform Bakkt .

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