- CME Group and CF Benchmarks announce plans to launch two APAC-specific crypto reference rates.
- The Bitcoin and Ether reference rates would be available from September 11.
- The new reference rates will be administered with the same standards as the platforms’ existing reference rates.
CME Group, the leading financial derivatives marketplace, partnered with the prominent cryptocurrency indices provider CF Benchmarks to launch two Asia Pacific-focused reference rates for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to a press release, the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate APAC (BRRAP) and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate APAC (ETHUSD_AP) would be launched on September 11.
The statement asserted that BRRAP and ETHUSD_AP would be available to individuals and institutions once a day at 4 pm in Hong Kong’s timezone, serving as a credible source of crypto prices and a means to settle crypto future contracts. Though the CME Group currently owns reference rates for both BTC and ETH, the rates are available only at times befitting the crypto aspirants in New York and London.
CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung assured that the new reference rates would be administered with the same standards as their existing London and New York counterparts. Adding that the reference rates intend to “build investor and institutional confidence in crypto financial products,” Chung stated:
Crypto adoption continues apace and CF Benchmarks is delighted to facilitate financial institutions in providing regulated financial products to Asian markets with the introduction of APAC variants to our market-defining Bitcoin Reference Rate and Ether-Dollar Reference Rate.
As per the press release, the existing Bitcoin and Ether reference rates, namely, BRR, ETH/USD_RR, published at 4.00 pm London time as well as BRRNY and ETHUSD_NY published at 4 pm New York time, would continue to be available to the investors. They would be used to settle the CME Group Bitcoin futures, Micro Bitcoin futures as well as Ether futures and Micro Ether futures.
Giovanni Vicioso, the Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, pointed out that the novel reference rates are focused on meeting the “ever-evolving needs of global participants in the growing digital space.” Vicioso also shed insights on the significance of these reference rates in “accurately and precisely” analyzing crypto price risks.
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