Bitcoin.com is in talks to list a bitcoin cash (BCH) futures contract on a regulated exchange, according to David Shin, head of the company’s exchange division.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the Singapore-based Shin said he had early talks to ensure a BCH futures contract would be available on an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He also said Bitcoin.com hoped to partner with a retail brokerage.
No CFTC-regulated exchange offers bitcoin cash futures. Bitcoin cash is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, behind bitcoin, ethereum and XRP. Shin said the push into futures would increase trading volumes and liquidity, and ultimately boost BCH’s market cap.
Related: CME Seeks to Double Monthly Bitcoin Futures Open Position Limit to 10K BTC
Bitcoin cash was trading Thursday afternoon around $300 a coin with a market cap of nearly $5.4 billion dollars, according to CoinDesk data. This is half the market cap of XRP, the next-closest coin, and 1/35th the value of market leader bitcoin.
Crypto futures are new to US investors. Available via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) since December 2017, only one other U.S. exchange — Bakkt, which trades futures through ICE — has been approved, and that was just last month. LedgerX and TD Ameritrade-backed ErisX are awaiting final regulatory approval to expand their options trading to include futures contracts.
Shin said that Bitcoin.com had not met with CME.
Bitcoin.com image via CoinDesk archives.