Crypto trading 2018, page-64

Remember  with this one  the trades are settled in USD  there is no need  at any time to  buy ,sell or own bitcoin


January 7 2018 - 11:00AM
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Investors see steep losses on early Bitcoin futures contracts

• James Titcomb

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Wall Street investors are nursing heavy losses on Bitcoin-linked investments as the first monthly futures contracts expire.
One-month Bitcoin futures, which traded at close to $US20,000 several weeks ago, have slumped in recent weeks as the cryptocurrency gold rush appears to fade.




Bitcoin hits bigger stage as CME launches futures

Bitcoin futures receive a lukewarm reception at its launch on the CME Group Inc, although market experts believe a recent rally in the cryptocurrency has further to go.
Bitcoin futures contracts launched on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in mid-December. It was seen as the moment that the cryptocurrency gained legitimacy among professional investors, allowing them to get a slice of the booming market for digital currencies with a regulated -financial product, instead of buying Bitcoin directly.
However, Bitcoin's entry into the mainstream has coincided with a sharp dip in its price. With days before they are due to expire, the contracts have lost as much as a fifth of their value, suggesting that professional investors have missed out on the leap in prices during most of last year.
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The first monthly Bitcoin future is due to expire next week, on January 17. At about $US16,000, the levels they were trading at on Friday, the futures have lost almost 20 per cent from their peak, and over 15 per cent from the first day of trading, when they closed at $US18,500.
CBOE's Bitcoin futures are linked to the price on Gemini, an online exchange operated by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the twin brothers who own more than $US1 billion of the digital currency, and the price of the contracts mirror that of Bitcoin itself.
Since the futures began trading, Bitcoin has peaked and then reversed some of its exceptional price rises, meaning that while many early owners are sitting on seismic gains, the professional investors who bought up futures contracts last month hoping for the party to continue have largely lost out.

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The losses, as well as controversies over how regulators have approved the futures contracts, threatens to dampen professional enthusiasm about Bitcoin.

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Since the futures began trading, Bitcoin has peaked and then reversed some of its exceptional price rises. Photo: KIN CHEUNG
Last week, the US derivatives regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said it would assess the "self-certification" regime that allowed the CBOE and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to launch Bitcoin futures after critics said it should have consulted the market.
Major banks have said the watchdog approved the launches too easily and that there was a lack of transparency about how the contracts would work. Last week both the US Securities and Exchange Commission and North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) warned about the dangers of cryptocurrencies, including futures contracts linked to the digital currency.

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Bitcoin futures contracts launched on the Chicago Board Options -Exchange (CBOE) in mid-December. Photo: KIICHIRO SATO
NASAA said there was a "high risk of fraud" and that the coins had an "unproven track record", while the SEC said several Initial Coin Offerings, cryptocurrency-based crowdfunding schemes, are not following securities laws. Bitcoin's price has fallen from a high of $US20,000 to as low as $US12,000 in recent weeks as rival cryptocurrencies have gathered steam, although it was given a boost when it emerged the Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel had placed a major bet on its future by investing.
The Daily Telegraph, London