In spite of the ever-tumultuous market, crypto investment services providers have continued to eye the expansion of their product lineup in a bid to entice prospective investors to allocate capital to this space.
LedgerX Ethereum Options Are On Their Way
Frank Chaparro, who has gained recognition for his crypto-focused Business Insider pieces, recently revealed that LedgerX, a leading New York-based cryptocurrency infrastructure firm, intends to introduce an Ethereum investment vehicle in the near future. Citing sources familiar with the firm’s business, Chaparro explained that the startup, which currently offers mostly Bitcoin-focused products and solutions, has plans to expand its options support to Ether, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
While the product has reportedly been fully developed, LedgerX is still waiting on a regulatory green light from the American Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Per insiders, it was revealed that the American regulatory body could review the Ether options application by as soon as October 5th, which is when the CFTC is scheduled to discuss this exact matter. Due to the fact that CFTC representatives have commended the cryptosphere on multiple occasions, many are hopeful that this product will receive a go-ahead the first time around.
Throughout the firm’s multi-year history, which stretches back to 2013, LedgerX garnered support for its Bitcoin vehicles, like the BTC options contract that was launched in October of last year. Since the establishment of BTC options and swaps, New York’s resident crypto company has purportedly brought on multi-billion-dollar hedge funds, family offices, and an array of other institutional investors.
So seeing the firm’s relatively extended history of success, it is only natural for the American startup to feel inclined to seek other opportunities in similar markets, which is just a hop, skip, and jump away in this scenario.
In the case of Ether, options linked to the crypto asset will allow traders to speculate on the future price of ETH, by giving an options contract holder an opportunity to buy or sell it at a predetermined price. As with any market, there are often two sides to the same coin, as LedgerX’s planned investment opportunity will allow pessimistic traders to short-sell Ether, which has become a common occurrence on BitMEX’s recently-established, controversial Ethereum perpetual swaps contract.
Regardless, this contract could open the door for the arrival of more investors in general, as many industry leaders claim that widespread adoption will occur following the creation of reliable cryptocurrency solutions, services, and most importantly, investment opportunities.
This most recent development comes just a few weeks after CBOE, the largest US-based options exchange by volume, revealed to Business Insider’s Chaparro that it had moved one step closer to launching an Ethereum-based futures contract. It is likely that the SEC’s clarification that Ether may not be classified as a security opened the door for the CBOE and LedgerX to start working on the aforementioned products.
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