Bitcoin has been on a roll the past couple of days, as this month will see the launch of bitcoin futures trading with big banks and this, among many other things, has lead to a rapid rise in the price of bitcoin.
Cboe and CME recently received permission to offer bitcoin futures. While there is lots of concern with trading futures on an unregulated cryptocurrency, there is also a lot of excitement around this recent announcement. Former market regulator Bart Chilton believes trading bitcoin futures will be safe and could actually help stabilize the cryptocurrency. Even long time bitcoin basher, JP Morgan Chase, is considering offering their clients bitcoin futures.
TD Ameritrade, Goldman Sachs, Ally Invest and Citigroup to name just a few are also announcing they are considering and/or will be offering their clients bitcoin futures.
In the coming days it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this change in the cryptocurrency world. Will consumers trust cryptocurrencies more leading to an even bigger price hike? All I can say is this recent price rise feels like a lot of people are trying to get in before the futures are offered.