The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on April 20 that it had issued an Order of Designation to Bitnomial Exchange, LLC located in Chicago, Ill., granting it status as a designated contract market (DCM).  As a result, Bitnomial joins a small number of other companies able to offer Bitcoin futures and option contracts. According to Bitnomial’s press release, “The approval allows Bitnomial to tackle a confluence of generational shifts in financial markets: First, a new generation of customers are emerging as savvy with trading, technology, and delivery. Second, innovative new unregulated derivatives are booming with daily volumes topping $45B but may be illegal for many US traders. And third, the US futures market system is calcified by legacy structures and monopolies and has struggled to connect with these new growth areas. Bitnomial’s new technology and products open these new growth areas to US customers, under US jurisdiction, and on our US exchange while mitigating costly jurisdictional and counter-party risks.”  The press release also stated that the company’s products would initially trade on 37% margin.

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David Zaslowsky has a degree in computer science and, before going to Yale Law School, was a computer programmer. His practice focuses on international litigation and arbitration. He has been involved in cases in trial and appellate courts across the United States and before arbitral institutions around the world. Many of David’s cases, including some patent cases, have related to technology. David has been included in Chambers for his expertise in international arbitration. He is the editor of the firm's blockchain blog.