Overview
- CME Group is set to roll out Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures on October 19, pending regulatory approval, available in both standard and Micro contract sizes.
- Bitcoin Cash futures will cover 250 BCH (Micro: 25 BCH), while Uniswap futures will encompass 10,000 UNI (Micro: 1,000 UNI).
- In the first half of 2026, CME's crypto futures and options averaged 279,800 contracts per day, amounting to a notional volume of $8.3 billion, according to the exchange.
The CME Group is expanding its regulated futures offerings by adding Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap. The exchange announced on Tuesday its intention to launch contracts for BCH and UNI on October 19, pending regulatory review.
Traders will have the option to choose between standard-sized contracts and smaller micro versions. The Bitcoin Cash futures will represent 250 BCH, with micro contracts covering 25 BCH. For Uniswap, the futures will cover 10,000 UNI, with micro contracts trading at 1,000 UNI.
Myriad: How high will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction.Currently, Bitcoin Cash is trading at $338 per coin, reflecting an increase of over 25% for the day, with a market cap of $6 billion. Meanwhile, Uniswap's UNI token is priced at $9.28, up 5.5% in the last 24 hours, with a market cap of $5.75 billion.
Bitcoin Cash originated from a split from Bitcoin in 2017, designed for larger block sizes and lower transaction fees rather than merely serving as a store of value. Uniswap operates the largest decentralized exchange in the crypto space, and the UNI token serves as the governance token for the protocol, allowing holders to vote on upgrades instead of receiving dividends.
Giovanni Vicioso, CME's global head of cryptocurrency products, stated, "As crypto markets continue to mature, participants require broader, regulated tools to navigate evolving digital asset-related price risk." He emphasized that the new contracts are designed for capital efficiency and provide exposure to "key crypto networks" within a regulated, around-the-clock environment.
Continued Expansion
The addition of BCH and UNI is not CME's first foray into altcoins this year. The exchange introduced Avalanche and Sui futures in April, which launched on May 4, following the introduction of Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar contracts in February. These five, along with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, comprised CME's crypto offerings prior to Tuesday's announcement.
This expansion has already proven fruitful. CME reported that its 2026 efforts to introduce futures for Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, and Sui have generated over $1 billion in total notional value year-to-date. Across the entire crypto market, futures and options averaged 279,800 contracts daily in the first half of 2026, representing a notional volume of $8.3 billion, with an average open interest of 264,600 contracts valued at $15.4 billion.
Volatility Shares CEO Justin Young described the new offerings as "another important step in the continued expansion of CME Group's crypto futures offering," positioning it as a way for clients to access these assets within a regulated futures framework. The firm also manages leveraged crypto ETFs associated with several of these altcoins.
Noel Kimmel, president of Ripple Prime, noted that institutions managing crypto exposure require "around-the-clock access to regulated derivatives, underpinned by the clearing and financing infrastructure to match." Ripple, which expanded its lending capacity through a $200 million facility in May, was created following its acquisition of Hidden Road in 2025.
If the regulatory review proceeds as planned, Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap will become the tenth and eleventh single-asset crypto futures products offered by CME, joining Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, and Sui when trading commences on October 19.