The Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME launched Ethereum futures trading, as ETH is trading at all-time highs at $1,650 per coin.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME launched Ethereum futures trading. Ethereum futures, announced in mid-December 2020, went live on February 7th under the ticker ETH1. The first block deal was 20 contracts of 50 ETH each. The strike price was $1650.

Ethereum futures are settled in cash and are based on the Ethereum (BRR) CME Group CF benchmark index, which includes data from major cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, itBit and Kraken. Like CME Bitcoin futures, Ethereum futures contracts do not involve physical delivery of the asset.

By the end of the trading day on February 8, it registered 388 contracts, which accounts for 19,400 ETH, or $33 million at press time. ETH futures with expiration at the end of February were the most popular contract type.

CME Group launched bitcoin derivatives futures contracts in December 2017 as bitcoin was approaching an all-time high of $ 20,000.

On February 5, Ethereum set an all-time high at $1,760. With the rise of ETH price, transaction fees in Ethereum network also jumped. On February 5, transaction fees surpassed $20 for the first time. This affected the income of miners: the daily profit of miners for processing transactions amounted to $22 million. This is an absolute record for ETH miners. When the ETH rate reached $1,700, Ethereum miners were able to earn a record $3.5 million in an hour.