B3 is to launch a futures market for cryptoassets in 2022. The plan of the Brazilian
exchange operator is to make a custody and settlement platform for bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
In an interview with Valor Econômico newspaper, the B3 director responsible for developing the company’s trading systems, Jochen Mielke, reported that there are plans to launch the cryptoasset futures market “in the coming months”. Meanwhile, B3 works on a pieline of other services linked to bitcoin and ethereum. “We have around 30 national crypto brokerages, besides the international ones that operate here. We could offer a service to facilitate and standardize their operations. In addition, I believe there is something to explore in providing custody services and the settlement process”, the executive told the newspaper.
The popularity of Ethereum and Bitcoin in B3
In addition, Mielke added that B3 also intends to provide other functions for cryptoassets, as it already does for the stock market. In August 2021, B3 launched the first ETF that replicates the price of ethereum, intending to diversify the portfolio for investors. And as early as December last year, these assets were already B3’s most profitable. A survey by Economática showed that funds with exposure to bitcoin and ethereum had returns of up to 108%. The high demand for cryptocurrencies and the popularity of this instrument ended up accelerating B3’s move.
“The ETF world has 150 thousand investors with R$100 million in average daily volume traded in November”, Mielke told Valor. The executive also added that B3 “has been attentive to digital assets since 2016”. The NY exchange, for example, has had a bitcoin futures market since 2017.
One of the main points yet to be defined for the futures market to start operating is whether trading will be carried out against the dollar or the real. After all, futures contracts always need index references, but there is no cryptoasset index in reais.
