London-based cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinfloor will launch a futures exchange for digital assets that will include the first physically delivered Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) futures contracts next month, Reuters reported.
Coinfloor will offer its users Bitcoin futures contracts through a trading platform dubbed CoinfloorEX. The contracts are aimed at proprietary trading firms and sophisticated retail investors as well as cryptocurrency miners.
Coinfloor’s new product comes in response to customer demand, according to the company’s co-founder Mark Lamb. Speaking at the sidelines of the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida, he stated:
“When you talk to the liquidity providers, they all say the same thing, which is they want a physically delivered futures contract so they can hedge their exposure across exchanges," he said.
Some traditional futures exchanges, including those run by Cboe Global Markets Inc and CME Group Inc, already offer Bitcoin futures. But they are cash settled, meaning the actual cryptocurrency does not change hands.