The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is currently reviewing entries from its Request for Input on Crypto-Asset Mechanics and Markets initiative set up last year aimed at collecting information about Ethereum and the resulting impact of a futures contract based on the digital asset.
After reviewing 43 entries, of which 29 of them seem to provide credible insights into the subject matter, an overall assessment may be that of positive sentiment towards an Ethereum-based futures contract. Of the entries, industry experts such as members from the Ethereum Foundation, Coinbase, Consensys, Circle, Craig Wright, ErisX, among others had provided their opinions about the stance of Ethereum in comparison to Bitcoin – which already has an approved futures contract running.
Highlights from the entries included describing the nature of Ethereum as being essentially a smart contract decentralized application (Dapp) creator first, before being considered a store of value or as a medium of exchange.
The Ethereum Foundation clarified that the intrinsic designs of the Ethereum network are “not financial in nature but simply use the blockchain as a source of high-assurance computation and data storage”.
Circle emphasized on Ethereum’s medium of exchange value: “As with Bitcoin, Ether can be used to pay for transactions and can be used for payments. Unlike bitcoin, tokens on the Ethereum network can be generated using smart contracts and can be used in smart contracts and transfers.”
Another comparison described Bitcoin as simply a store of value and medium of exchange, while with the nature of Ethereum’s versatility, the risks scale alongside, as the Futures Industry Association (FIA) opined: “With the Ethereum Network’s architecture, risk management is potentially more complicated than for Bitcoin by orders of magnitude…”
On the other hand, when the regulator asked about the impact of an approved futures contract on the asset itself, ErisX offered its opinion, suggesting that it would have a more positive impact on the growth and maturation of the market. It believes a futures contract will provide “the potential for greater liquidity, more effective price discovery, and more efficient risk transference”.
Although other players in the industry may have had slightly more critical views about the Ethereum network, the compromise did come at a shared view from larger players on more regulatory oversight on the industry.
The first obstacle to a second official cryptocurrency futures contract in the United States may have been scaled when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Ethereum won’t be regulated as security. The second important milestone is an approval from the CFTC, which was initiated when the regulator asked for public opinions about the Ethereum network. CBOE plans to launch an Ethereum futures contract currently awaits the regulator’s approval.
Bitcoin futures contract were launched by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in late 2017, which had a compelling effect on the crypto market, taking it to new all-time highs at the time. One major sentiment in the market is that more derivative contracts would have a similar effect on the market. As such, an approved Ethereum futures contract in the US may bode well for the Ethereum support community since the asset’s market value has depreciated by as much as 94.2% at some point; and currently, its price has dropped 89.6% since it’s last all-time high.
Although cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX currently offers an Ethereum futures contract quoted in Bitcoin and has been receiving positive patronage in recent times, still, the market could be set up for an explosive uptrend should the CFTC grant its approval to the CBOE exchange.
