Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) on Cryptocurrency futures
Capture the certainty of cryptocurrency benchmarks
Trade cryptocurrency basis with the pricing credibility and transparency of regulated CME CF benchmarks. Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) enables market participants to execute a basis trade relative to the reference price of the CME CF Reference Rates. BTIC is now available on Bitcoin, Micro Bitcoin, Ether and Micro Ether futures across the London, New York and APAC variants, as well as on Bitcoin Friday futures.
Enjoy greater flexibility to trade Bitcoin Friday futures with Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) transactions. Efficiently execute a basis trade relative to the reference price of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate NY Variant (BRRNY) for more efficient cash and risk management.
Enjoy real-time price discovery
Tap into the real-time price discovery of the BTIC orderbook of trades submitted against CME CF Reference Rates.
Trade the basis with precision
Isolate the basis (spread) between the price of futures and the underlying index so you can better manage risk.
Manage risk around ETFs
Effectively manage risk around the creation/redemption of net asset value (NAV) print of ETFs.
Efficiently transfer risk
Easily transfer risk and optimize holdings between cryptocurrency futures and the spot cryptocurrency.
BTIC transactions provide the bridge between the reference price of a benchmark index and the corresponding futures market. How it works for BTIC on Cryptocurrency futures:
- At any point during the trading session, a buyer and seller agree to a basis ─ the spread between the futures and the respective CME CF Reference Rate. The value depends on the futures implied financing rate, time left to contract maturity and perceived volatility, among other factors.
- Market participants have the flexibility to trade the respective Cryptocurrency futures contract against a reference rate calculated at 4:00 p.m. London time, 4:00 p.m. New York time or 4:00 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore time. Each reference rate will have its own BTIC ticker.
- A BTIC on Bitcoin futures against London Close transaction (ticker: BTB) executed by 4:00 p.m. London time will be transposed to a futures price against that day’s respective CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate. BTB transactions executed after 4:00 p.m. London time will use the next trading day’s reference rate.
- A BTIC on Bitcoin futures against New York Close transaction (ticker: BNB) executed by 4:00 p.m. New York time will be transposed to a futures price against that day’s respective CME CF Reference Rate New York Variant. BNB transactions executed after 4:00 p.m. New York time will use the next trading day’s reference rate.
- A BTIC on Bitcoin futures against APAC Close transaction (ticker: ABB) executed by 4:00 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore time will be transposed to a futures price against that day’s respective CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate APAC Variant ABB transactions executed after 4:00 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore time will use the next trading day’s reference rate.
| Bitcoin futures | Micro Bitcoin futures | Ether futures | Micro Ether futures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CME Product Codes | Futures: BTC | Futures: MTB | Futures: ETH | Futures: MET |
| BTIC: BTB | BTIC: MIB | BTIC: ETB | BTIC: EMB | |
| Underlying Reference Rate | BRR | BRR | ETHUSD_RR | ETHUSD_RR |
| Underlying Contract Size | 5 bitcoin | 0.10 bitcoin | 50 ether | 0.10 ether |
| Minimum Price Fluctuation | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $0.50 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $0.05 per contract |
| Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | BTIC: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract | BTIC: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| Listed Contracts | Monthly contracts listed for 6 consecutive months, quarterly contracts (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) listed for 4 additional quarters and a second Dec contract if only one is listed. | |||
| Termination of Trading | Futures: Trading terminates at 4:00 p.m. London time on the last Friday of the contract month if that day is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. If that day is not a business day in both the U.K. and the U.S, trading shall terminate on the preceding day that is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. | |||
| BTIC: For an expiring futures contract, BTIC trading shall terminate at 4:00pm London time on the business day immediately preceding the day of Final Settlement Price determination for such futures contract. For clarity, BTIC transactions in expiring futures contracts may not be initiated on the Last Trade Date in such expiring futures. | ||||
| Block Minimum | Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 10 contracts | Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 100 contracts |
| BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 10 contracts | BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 100 contracts | |
| Bitcoin futures | Micro Bitcoin futures | Bitcoin Friday Futures | Ether futures | Micro Ether futures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CME Product Codes |
Futures: BTC | Futures: MTB | Futures: BFF | Futures: ETH | Futures: MET |
| BTIC: BNB | BTIC: MYB | BTIC: BFB | BTIC: ENB | BTIC: EYB | |
| Underlying Reference Rate | CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY) | CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate New York (ETHUSD_NY) | |||
| Underlying Contract Size | 5 bitcoin | 0.10 bitcoin | 0.02 bitcoin | 50 ether | 0.10 ether |
Minimum Price Fluctuation |
Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $0.50 per contract | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $0.50 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $0.05 per contract |
| Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.02 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.02 per contract | BTIC: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract |
BTIC: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| Listed Contracts | 2 Friday expiring weekly contracts. Next contract to be listed on the Thursday 6:00 p.m. NY for Friday trade date. | ||||
Termination of Trading |
Futures: Trading terminates at 4:00 p.m. London time on the last Friday of the contract month if that day is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. If that day is not a business day in both the U.K. and the U.S, trading shall terminate on the preceding day that is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. | ||||
| BTIC: For an expiring futures contract, BTIC trading shall terminate at 4:00pm New York time on the business day immediately preceding the day of Final Settlement Price determination for such futures contract. For clarity, BTIC transactions in expiring futures contracts may not be initiated on the Last Trade Date in such expiring futures. | |||||
Block Minimum |
Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 10 contracts | Futures: - | Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 100 contracts |
| BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 10 contracts | BTIC: 25 contracts | BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 100 contracts | |
| BITCOIN FUTURES | MICRO BITCOIN FUTURES | ETHER FUTURES | MICRO ETHER FUTURES | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CME PRODUCT CODES | Futures: BTC | Futures: MTB | Futures: ETH | Futures: MET |
| BTIC: ABB | BTIC: AMB | BTIC: ATB | BTIC: AHB | |
| UNDERLYING REFERENCE RATE | CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate APAC Variant (BRRAP) | CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate APAC (ETHUSD_AP) | ||
| UNDERLYING CONTRACT SIZE | 5 bitcoin | 0.10 bitcoin | 50 ether | 0.10 ether |
| MINIMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $5.00 per bitcoin = $0.50 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $25.00 per contract | Outright: $0.50 per ether = $0.05 per contract |
| Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | Calendar Spread: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract | Calendar Spread: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $5.00 per contract | BTIC: $1.00 per bitcoin = $0.10 per contract | BTIC: $0.05 per ether = $2.50 per contract |
BTIC: $0.10 per ether = $0.01 per contract | |
| LISTED CONTRACTS | Monthly contracts listed for 6 consecutive months, quarterly contracts (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) listed for 4 additional quarters and a second Dec contract if only one is listed. | |||
| TERMINATION OF TRADING | Futures: Trading terminates at 4:00 p.m. London time on the last Friday of the contract month if that day is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. If that day is not a business day in both the U.K. and the U.S, trading shall terminate on the preceding day that is a business day in either the U.K. or the U.S. | |||
| BTIC: For an expiring futures contract, BTIC trading shall terminate at 4:00pm Hong Kong/Singapore time on the business day immediately preceding the day of Final Settlement Price determination for such futures contract. For clarity, BTIC transactions in expiring futures contracts may not be initiated on the Last Trade Date in such expiring futures. | ||||
| BLOCK MINIMUM | Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 10 contracts | Futures: 5 contracts | Futures: 100 contracts |
| BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 10 contracts | BTIC: 5 contracts | BTIC: 100 contracts | |
| Product Name | CME Globex | Bloomberg | CQG | Refinitiv |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTIC on Bitcoin Futures against London Close | BTB | BTDA <Curncy> | BTB | BTB |
| BTIC on Ether Futures against London Close | ETB | DCSA <Curncy> | ETB | EBT |
| BTIC on Micro Bitcoin Futures against London Close | MIB | BMYA <Curncy> | MIB | MBI |
| BTIC on Micro Ether futures against London Close | EMB | MBWA <Curncy> | MRB | BRM |
| Product Name | CME Globex | Bloomberg | CQG | Refinitiv |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin futures BTIC on BRRNY Index | BNB | BRBA <Curncy> | BNB | BNB |
| Micro Bitcoin futures BTIC on BRRNY Index | MYB | MYBA <Curncy> | MYB | MYB |
| Bitcoin Friday futures BTIC on BRRNY Index | BFB | N/A | BFBD+[dd] such as BFBD18V24 | TBD |
| Ether futures BTIC on ETHUSD_NY Index | ENB | FNBA <Curncy> | ENB | ENB |
| Micro Ether futures BTIC on ETHUSD_NY Index | EYB | FYBA <Curncy> | EYB | EYB |
| PRODUCT NAME | CME GLOBEX | BLOOMBERG | CQG | REFINITIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin futures BTIC on BRRAP Index | ABB | ABCA <Curncy> | ABB | BAO |
| Micro Bitcoin futures BTIC on BRRAP Index | AMB | AEPA <Curncy> | AMB | BAU |
| Ether futures BTIC on ETHUSD_AP Index | ATB | AQTA <Curncy> | ATB | TBZ |
| Micro Ether futures BTIC on ETHUSD_AP Index | AHB | AHB - AHIA <Curncy> | AHB | BHZ |
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