Inside CME Group's journey to launch an ETH futures product

"It's been number one on the ask list for a long time."

That's Tim McCourt, global head of equity products for CME Group. Speaking about the reception of the more than hundred-and-seventy-year-old exchange's latest product -- futures based on ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network -- McCourt characterized the response as "overwhelming."

"People have been really excited ... I think for a long time customers have really been demanding ether futures. They're really excited about the bitcoin futures and the success they've had," he said on the most recent episode of The Scoop.

CME Group saw 388 contracts traded on the first full day of trading for the product, which was announced at the end of last year.

That's about 19,000 ETH, or $33 million. The launch of ether futures followed the launch of bitcoin options at the end of 2019 and its bitcoin futures product in 2017. 

At last check, open interest in CME's bitcoin futures product stood above $2 billion. 

McCourt said that unlike products trading on other venues, CME's crypto products trade on a venue to which professional market participants are already connected.

The firm's crypto products "widgets through the machine” in the same way as its thousands of other contracts, he said. "Your brokers are familiar. Your clearing members are familiar. So you don't have some of those barriers to enter that you have on the spot side."

In this episode of The Scoop, McCourt unpacks the growth of CME's crypto products, the development of the overall crypto trading ecosystem, and what might come next for his company's crypto offerings.

Episode 7 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Tim McCourt of CME Group.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.

This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by our sponsors Blockset and Kraken.

Blockset

With Blockset, companies gain access to tools such as:

1. A highly scalable API that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other top chains

2. AML/KYC data expediting time to market by complying with legal requirements

3. Leading custody solutions using modern multi-party compute (MPC) technology 

Kraken

Whether you're an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.