CME looks to double monthly open positions limit of its bitcoin futures contracts

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group), the only exchange that currently provides bitcoin futures contracts in the U.S., is looking to double open positions limit of the product.

CME has written to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for the proposed move, which would increase the limit from 1,000 contracts per spot month to 2,000.

One contract is for five bitcoins, which means the change, once cleared by the CFTC, would increase a trader’s maximum exposure to 10,000 bitcoins from the current 5,000. The change would then take place from the Oct. 2019 contract month and all contract months thereafter.

CME Group has been offering bitcoin futures contracts since late 2017, and the exchange is now gearing up to launch another bitcoin derivatives product, as reported by The Block last week. The new product could launch before the end of this year.