BitPay, Circle Among Staunch Supporters of CFTC Approval for LedgerX Clearing Bitcoin Derivatives

The comment period offered by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on LedgerX's application for registration as a Derivatives Clearing Organization and Swap Execution Facility has been extended until February 20.

LedgerX wants to become the first approved facility where physically-settled options on bitcoin can be listed and cleared. Last October, the startup received funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Google Ventures and others.

Among notable commenters were BitPay and Circle. Both businesses engage in the exchange of bitcoin for fiat on behalf of their clients, requiring them to maintain a sufficient reserve of bitcoin. Thus, derivative products will help hedge exposure to price Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term, and the approval of a registered facility will instill confidence in its users.

Tony Gallippi of BitPay added that it's important for the US to take a leading role in the trading of bitcoin and bitcoin derivatives, as it did in the 1990's for internet access and availability.

Circle Head of Treasury and Trading Operations Joshua Lim expanded upon the advantages of such derivatives: (1) to hedge against market risk and stay within defined risk limits, (2) to decouple the need for deliverable bitcoin inventory from a net delta position, (3) options can help cater to higher customer demand for bitcoins at low prices and (4) to gain insight into market sentiment and implied volatility.

Also weighing in was Lightspeed Venture Partners. Echoing the aforementioned commentary, partner Jeremy Liew added that derivatives exchanges "generally increase Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term and improve price discovery in the underlying instrument."

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