Nasdaq, the world’s second largest stock exchange, has confirmed its plans to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2019.
Nasdaq’s vice president of media team, Joseph Christinat, clarified that the launch does still depend on approval from the United States CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). He went on to say that there’s been enough work put into this that regulatory approval is “academic”.
“We’re doing this, and it’s happening.”
Joseph Christinat, Nasdaq VP of Media Team
No confirmation was given as to whether the BTC futures would be cash back or physically settled in the cryptocurrency itself. Currently, the first physically delivered Bitcoin futures are scheduled to be launched by Bakkt in January, 2019.
VanEck is currently awaiting a final decision from the SEC on its physically backed Bitcoin ETF.