Benzinga | Dec 7, 2021 09:15AM EST

CME Group Launches Micro Ethereum Futures To Attract New Demographic Of Retail Traders

The CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME) has launched Micro Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Futures on its institutional-focused derivatives exchange.

What Happened: In an announcement on Monday, the CME Group unveiled a new futures product sized at 1/10 of an ETH.

The product is aimed at providing traders with a cost-effective way to gain exposure to the second-largest digital asset by market cap Ethereum. According to CME, traders will have access to the same features of the larger ETH Futures, which were launched in February, at a fraction of the size and with lower margins.

"The range of futures products that CME Group offers enable our active trader and institutional investor clients to take advantage of trading opportunities while minimizing price risk across markets," said Steve Sanders, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR).

"Micro Ether futures is a timely example of CME Group providing product to the new retail market participants we have witnessed this past year, while also providing institutional asset managers more tools to track performance," commented Bob Fitzsimmons, Executive Vice President at Wedbush Securities.

In March, CME launched Micro Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) Futures with the intention to open up a new demographic of active retail traders for the derivatives exchange.

The firm has also recently entered a 10-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud after receiving a $1 billion strategic investment from Google's parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL).

Price Action: On Tuesday morning, ETH traded at $4,400 gaining 10% in the last 24 hours. BTC traded at $51,500, up 7% over the same period.

Photo by DrawKit Illustrations on Unsplash