Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) is bringing a micro sized Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) futures contract to its derivatives platform.
What Happened: Coinbase’s Nano Ether futures contract will be accessible for trading on Aug. 29, the exchange said on Thursday.
The contract is a tenth of the size of one ETH and offers retail investors the opportunity to trade in the futures market with considerably less upfront capital.
See Also: How To Buy Ethereum (ETH)
“This will enable all types of traders to securely access regulated U.S. crypto derivatives markets to express their views or hedge their underlying crypto assets,” said Coinbase in a blog.
In June, the cryptocurrency exchange launched a Nano Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) futures contract sized at 1/100th of one BTC.
Until Coinbase gets approval to operate a futures commission merchant (FCM) to offer futures directly, traders will have to access through retail brokers like EdgeClear, Ironbeam and NinjaTrader or clearing firms such as Wedbush and ABN AMRO (AS:ABNd).
See Also: HOW DOES COINBASE MAKE MONEY?
Why It Matters: The launch of an ETH futures contract comes at a time when traders have been more actively speculating on the price of the cryptocurrency as it approaches an important upgrade called the Merge.
Earlier this week, derivatives data showed that ETH traders were most bullish at the $1,600 price level.
Price Action: At press time, ETH was trading at $1,692, up 2.42% over 24 hours as per data from Benzinga Pro. COIN shares traded 0.59% lower after hours.
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