German derivatives exchange Eurex is planning to launch digital asset futures contracts tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP. The launch is imminent, according to The Block.
Eurex’s parent company, German stock exchange operator Deutsche Börse, has reportedly been planning to introduce crypto futures since December of 2017 when Bitcoin was trading near its all-time high of $20,000.
Speaking to German news outlet Wirtschaftswoche, a Deutsche Börse spokesperson said,
“We are thinking about futures, with which private investors and institutional investors can protect existing investments in Bitcoin or set for falling prices of the cyber currency.”
Eurex crypto futures is one part of Deutsche Börse’s efforts to expand its blockchain-based applications and products.
In March of 2018, the exchange announced a collaboration with HQLAx, a fintech company that specializes in delivering liquidity solutions for institutional clients. The companies are developing a securities lending offering based on R3’s commercial blockchain platform, Corda.
Deutsche Börse says the initiative is making significant progress with six banks confirming they’ll join the platform at launch date, which is scheduled in the first half of 2019.
Eurex was founded in 1998. It is the seventh-largest derivatives exchange worldwide, according to data compiled by Statista, and the fifth-largest exchange by number of single stock futures contracts traded in 2017, according to data compiled by the World Federation of Exchanges.
London-based crypto derivatives exchange CoinFLEX is also planning to launch physically-backed futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash.
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