Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Coin Futures and Lending Exchange (CoinFLEX) has announced that it will be providing futures contracts for cryptocurrencies to Asian investors as from February 2019.
The new futures contract will allow traders to exchange tether (USDT) for another cryptocurrency designed to hold its value with the U.S. dollar, USD Coin (USDC), in order to ease cryptocurrency trading across the markets, the company said.
The venture is owned by a consortium including famed early crypto advocate Roger Ver and Trading Technologies International Inc., which develops trading software for brokers and money managers. Coinfloor, the U.K.’s oldest Bitcoin exchange, will also retain an equity stake.
Mark Lamb, a co-founder of Coinfloor, will be the chief executive officer of the new business based in Hong Kong. CoinFLEX, will offer futures contracts for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum that can be leveraged up to 20 times.
CoinFLEX will have to compete with Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the owner of the NYSE, which plans to introduce a physically delivered futures contract as part of its crypto venture called Bakkt. Chicago-based derivatives market Eris Exchange is opening a market that will also feature physically delivered contracts on some of the largest tokens.
