Cboe is Planning A Re-Entry Into The Market By Acquiring Regulated Futures Exchange ErisX

Cboe Global Markets wants back in on the cryptocurrency market, and the latest step towards this direction is entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Eris Digital Holdings, a US-based spot exchange, and CFTC regulated futures exchange and clearinghouse.

In May this year, Cboe had filed for investment giant Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF, saying concerns about potential manipulation of a Bitcoin ETF have been “sufficiently mitigated.”

Cboe had started feeling the FOMO last year when in December, it announced that it would launch a suite of tools, including crypto indexes, real-time ticks, and historical data.

The platform was the first to launch Bitcoin futures, along with CME, at the peak of the 2017 bull market. But after going through the 2018 bear market, in March 2019, Cboe delisted Bitcoin futures, when the price of BTC was about $4,000. Two years later, this March, Chairman, and CEO Ed Tilly said they “haven’t given up on” bitcoin futures.

Today, Bitcoin is trading at an all-time new high above $67,000.

While CME is leading regulated Bitcoin futures space with open interest on an all-time high of $4.77 billion with the first Bitcoin Futures ETF launch, Cboe is making a reentry through ErisX.

It plans to operate the crypto-asset business as Cboe Digital.

“I am confident that together we can not only meet the growing demand for institutional and retail trading solutions but also push the boundaries of digital asset innovation and unlock its next phase of growth.”