Bitcoin Soars on NASDAQ Bitcoin Futures Plan

Bitcoin and other bigger digital currencies’ prices all traded higher on Thursday in Asia on news that the NASDAQ is set to introduce bitcoin futures in the first quarter of next year.

Bitcoin increased 6.55 percent to $4,187.5 on major indexes. Ethereum gained 4.49 percent to $118.77 and XRP gained 2.48 percent to $0.37633 on the Poloniex exchange.

Litecoin also gained 8.68 percent to $33.550 on the Bitfinex exchange.

Bitcoin recovered some of its momentum after a second low this week. The most-traded digital coin slipped below $3,800 in mid-week before bouncing to this week’s peak at $4,395 on early Thursday morning.

On the other hand, bitcoin remains trading 30 percent less of its value since mid-November, when the digital coin dropped from higher than $6,500.

Media also reported on Thursday that NASDAQ is set to kick off its bitcoin futures in the first quarter of 2019 in spite of the current bearish sentiment for cryptocurrencies.

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Bitcoin futures will offer investors with a centralized marketplace where participants can speculate on the future price movements of bitcoin.

NASDAQ has reportedly been working closely with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to secure approval for its proposed bitcoin futures launch along with investment management firm VanEck.

Gabor Gurbacs, VanEck’s director of digital asset strategy, said the firm “ran a few extra miles working with the CFTC to bring about new standards for custody and surveillance.”

NASDAQ is not the first one to enter the digital currency space. The CFTC has so far approved two crypto futures products. One if from the Chicago Board Options Exchange and another from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

NASDAQ showed interest in tapping into the crypto space earlier. In April, its CEO Adena Friedman told media that “certainly NASDAQ would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time.”