Contracts will be one-tenth of a bitcoin
On May 3, the CME Group will launch bitcoin micro futures. They will be worth one-tenth of a bitcoin.
"Since the launch of our Bitcoin futures contract in 2017, we have seen steady, ongoing growth of liquidity and market participation in our crypto derivatives, especially among institutional traders," said Tim McCourt, CME Group Global Head of Equity Index and Alternative Investment Products in a press release. "The introduction of Micro Bitcoin futures responds directly to demand for smaller-sized contracts from a broad array of clients and will offer even more choice and precision in how participants can trade regulated Bitcoin futures in a transparent and efficient manner at CME Group."
I wouldn't expect this to be much of a factor for bitcoin. It's likely the CME trying to gain a bit more market share ahead of a US bitcoin ETF -- something that will be a major catalyst.
Meanwhile, bitcoin is up 3.4% today to $59,208 in part due to PayPal saying it will allow US customers to check out with crypto (to convert at checkout, with a brutal exchange rate no doubt).
