In 2008, a programmer using a mysterious pseudonym (“Satoshi Nakamoto”) published an academic paper describing a new, decentralized digital currency. Bitcoin was born.

Today, all the Bitcoins in circulation are worth over $295 billion dollars, more than the market value of Procter & Gamble.

Is Bitcoin a bubble? 

What is the “true” value of a single Bitcoin? Is it $50,000 dollars, as some people claim? Or is it… zero?

In December 2017, the CBOE and CME launched regulated Bitcoin futures contracts, allowing people to speculate on the value of Bitcoins.

Today, Collective2 announces support for the CBOE Bitcoin futures contract on the C2 Platform. This means that C2 Trade Leaders can execute trades for Bitcoin futures products, and subscribers to their C2 trading strategies will be able to follow Bitcoin trades in their own brokerage accounts.

Here are the contract specifications for CBOE Bitcoin futures:

CBOE Bitcoin Futures (XBT)

Contract Multiplier: 1 Bitcoin
C2 Symbol: @XBT
Point Value: 1 ($1 per contract)
Minimum Price Intervals: 10 point values ($10 per contract)

Margin: C2 will use Interactive Brokers margin rates which are different for long and short positions and subject to change. More info is published on the IB website here: https://ibkr.info/article/3049

Important:  Interactive Brokers has set different margin requirements for long and short positions in Bitcoin futures. We will initially require the short margin amount for both short and long positions.   In the case of outright short positions, the margin rate for the CFE contracts is currently set at USD 40,000 per contract and the CME contract, which is 5x larger, has a requirement of USD 200,000. As of the time of this article, there is currently no reduced day-trading margin. 

For Additional Information: Visit the CBOE website or CME website.  

DISCLOSURES: Futures’ trading is not suitable for all investors and involves the risk of loss. The risk of loss in futures can be substantial. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for your financial condition. No statement within this webpage should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell a futures contract, follow, subscribe, or AutoTrade any Collective2 strategy, or as investment advice.

Customers choosing to trade Bitcoin futures should consider additional significant risks including, but not limited to: (a) Bitcoin futures contracts have not previously traded on a U.S. regulated futures exchange and as such, there is no futures trading history in this product; (b)The price of the underlying Bitcoin and the indexes upon which the futures contracts are based are highly volatile and unpredictable based on many factors; (c) Since a limited number of futures commissions merchants may offer trading in the Bitcoin futures contracts, there might be limited volume which might impact market efficiencies and price movements; and (d) The risk of loss can be substantial and could result in a customer losing more than the initial or maintenance margin requirement. As such, each customer should conduct his or her own due diligence prior to make a decision to trade in these products. See link below from the National Futures Association for more information. www.nfa.futures.org/investors/investor-advisory.html

Additionally, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has made available a Virtual Currency Resource Web Page designed to educate and inform the public about this topic and its risks. See the link below for further information from the CFTC. http://www.cftc.gov/bitcoin/index.html

Interactive Brokers LLC is a registered Broker-Dealer, Futures Commission Merchant and Forex Dealer Member, regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and several other self-regulatory organizations. Interactive Brokers does not endorse or recommend any introducing brokers, third-party financial advisors, hedge funds or Auto Trading Service Providers, including Collective2. Interactive Brokers provides execution and clearing services to customers. None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation, offer, or solicitation of an offer by Interactive Brokers to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument or to engage in any specific investment strategy. Interactive Brokers makes no representation, and assumes no liability to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this website.

For more information regarding Interactive Brokers, please visit www.interactivebrokers.com.