One of the largest derivatives marketplace, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has announced plans to launch Ether futures options on 12th September. This launch is still subject to a regulatory review.

This new product is set to be released as CME group recorded 1.8 million Ether futures contract till date. With the highly anticipated Ethereum Merge nearing, Global Head of Equity and FX Products at the company – Tim McCourt – has said that he has observed demand from market investors to manage Ether price risk.

In the same statement, Tim added “The launch of these new options contracts builds on the significant growth and deep liquidity we have seen in our existing Ether futures, which have traded more than 1.8 million contracts to date.”

A notably significant chunk of Ether options is undergone via OTC desks. CME’s new Ether options are designed to offer clients better flexibility and more precision to manage investors’ exposure to ETH ahead of market moving events.

CME already offers Bitcoin options. It launched Bitcoin futures in 2017 and is set to launch Ethereum futures four years later. The company has also started offering small-sized Bitcoin and Ethereum options earlier this year, citing the growing demand for these products.

Digital Assets Head of Brokering at TP ICAP – Sam Newman – extended support to CME Group on the rolling out of its full-sized Ether options contract as he said “This larger-sized Ether option, in tandem with the already popular Micro Ether option, has been eagerly awaited by TP ICAP’s customers. With the upcoming Ethereum protocol merge, we expect this new contract to see significant interest from both our traditional customers as well as crypto native clients.”

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