The new Bitcoin and Ether reference rates will be available from September 11th.
CME Group, the renowned derivatives marketplace, is rolling out reference rates focused on two prominent cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), catering to the Asia Pacific region.
According to the announcement shared on August 16th, for this venture, CME Group is partnering with CF Benchmarks. The partnership aims to unveil BTC and ETH reference rates tailored for the Asia Pacific audience on September 11th.
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These rates, which reflect the current price of cryptocurrencies, play a pivotal role in CME's futures contract pricing.
While CME Group already offers reference rates for BTC and ETH, those have been time-aligned for the New York and London markets. The new Asia-specific reference rates will be available daily at 4 PM Hong Kong time.
The motivation behind this move is clear; a significant portion of the crypto volume originates from outside the US, with a notable 11% emerging from the Asia-Pacific region.
Elaborating on the development, Matrixport's Markus Thielen shared his insights, indicating the rising institutional demand for precise BTC and ETH pricing throughout the Asian trading day. Institutions stand to benefit from these daily prices, potentially spurring even higher demand from their end investors.
Adding to their repertoire, CME and CF have also curated reference rates for Metaverse-centric tokens such as Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), and Decentraland (MANA). Moreover, the firm integrates crypto spot exchange trade flow information from platforms like Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken to ensure a credible pricing reference.
As regions like Hong Kong and Singapore pave the way for crypto regulations, it's evident that institutions are favorably inclined towards such crypto-supportive locales. This move by CME Group only underscores the growing prominence of the crypto space in the Asia Pacific landscape.
