CME Group to Launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap Futures, Citing Market Maturation
CME Group announced Tuesday it will introduce futures contracts for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Uniswap (UNI) on October 19, pending regulatory approval. The news coincided with significant price surges for both cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Cash saw its value climb from $270 to $328 on Binance within 90 minutes of the announcement’s release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The cryptocurrency continued its upward trajectory in the subsequent hours, reaching $340. Uniswap’s token, UNI, also experienced a notable increase, rising 15% to trade above $10.
New Contract Offerings
The new futures contracts will be available in two sizes for each asset: a standard contract and a Micro contract. For Bitcoin Cash, these will be 250 BCH and 25 BCH, respectively. For Uniswap, the contracts will be 10,000 UNI and 1,000 UNI.
These additions will expand CME Group’s single-asset cryptocurrency futures lineup, which already includes contracts for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether, XRP, Solana, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, and Sui. Trading for these new contracts will take place on Globex, the platform where CME Group initiated its 24/7 cryptocurrency trading on May 29.
Rationale Behind Expansion
Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, stated that as the cryptocurrency market continues to mature, participants require more comprehensive and regulated tools to manage price risks associated with evolving digital assets. He added that these new contracts will provide clients with exposure to “key crypto networks within our 24/7, regulated marketplace.”
Market Performance
Bitcoin Cash has been a top performer in the 24-hour period, surging 28% to a multi-month high of $340. In comparison, Bitcoin saw a 1.1% increase over the same timeframe on Binance, and the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization grew by 1.8%, according to CoinGecko data.
Data from CoinGecko indicates that BCH closed at $216.74 on September 16 and has since risen 55% to $340. This period also saw Bitcoin reach an eight-month high above $87,000 on Tuesday, with Bitcoin Cash among the altcoins demonstrating more substantial gains. Despite its recent surge, the token remains 91.5% below its December 2017 peak of $3,785.82.
Uniswap’s token has also experienced a significant double-digit increase, currently showing a 15% rise since the previous day, pushing its price above $10. Over the past seven days, UNI has gained 64%, and over 30 days, it has increased by 105%, according to CoinGecko. This follows a 30% jump to a 10-month high near $9.20 on September 18, which occurred after the SEC granted an innovation exemption for on-chain trading of tokenized stocks.
CME Group’s Crypto Trading Volume
CME Group reported an average daily volume of 279,800 cryptocurrency futures and options contracts in the first half of 2026, representing $8.3 billion in notional value. Average open interest stood at 264,600 contracts, or $15.4 billion. The five altcoin futures introduced this year—Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, and Sui—have collectively traded over $1 billion in notional value year-to-date. In August, the average daily volume for cryptocurrency trading was 175,000 contracts, with a notional value of $12 billion, according to the exchange’s September 2 volume report.
Noel Kimmel, President at Ripple Prime, commented in the announcement that institutions managing cryptocurrency exposure require “around-the-clock access to regulated derivatives, underpinned by the clearing and financing infrastructure to match.”
