source: cointelegraph
After a tumultuous week in the cryptocurrency space, Chicago Board Options Exchange closed its first Bitcoin futures contract. The CBOE began selling futures on December 10, 2017. Its first contract expired this past Wednesday at $10,900. Bitcoin fell below $10,000 this week. Meanwhile, CME contracts will expire on January 26th. Could this mean another week ahead of Bitcoin lows?
With the first contract expiring this past Wednesday, investors that "shorted" (took out bets that bitcoin was due for a pullback) have likely made very nice profits.
Further rounds of successful futures contracts settlements will build confidence in the market and may lead to altcoin futures contracts as well.
Some in the cryptocurrency community suggest that the whales may be manipulating the market in order to fulfill their futures bets. Since Bitcoin futures must be settled in cash, buy-ins and sell-offs could swing the price. However, such discrepancies would trigger mechanisms designed to prevent it.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $11,800, up 1.6% in last 24 hours.