ICE CEO Says He Won’t ‘Rule Out’ Crypto Futures Contract
ICE chief executive, Jeffrey Sprecher discussed the issue in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, saying it is “early days” for the asset class, but that he could not ignore the idea of cryptocurrency futures contracts. He did not discuss any particular cryptocurrency.
He said:
“I wouldn’t rule anything out … There is a trend here we can’t ignore in my mind, so I don’t discount it. People put more faith in a guy named Satoshi Nakamoto that no one has ever met than they do in the U.S. Fed.”
One of ICE’s subsidiaries – the New York Stock Exchange – has already entered the cryptocurrency space with an investment in crypto exchange Coinbase in 2015. The NYSE has further invested in a number of clearing houses, exchanges and marketplaces specializing in futures, options, swaps and other instruments. ICE recently announced that it would acquire the Chicago Stock Exchange.
The NYSE also filed to list bitcoin futures late last year.
The firm’s rivals CME Group and Cboe Global Markets introduced futures contracts based on bitcoin prices in December, and Nasdaq is considering following suit.
Sprecher likened the growing embrace of crytpocurrencies to other developments in tech.