Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 has confirmed that it will launch its first Bitcoin futures trading products within six months.
The announcement was made by André Milanez during a conference call on Monday. But Milanez is yet to provide in depth details about how the product will function. It is also unclear as to whether the Bitcoin futures trading will be provided by B3 directly or in collaboration with any firms. At the moment, the only thing that is clear is the time period for the launch.
“We plan to launch bitcoin futures in the next three to six months.”
Milanez
Brazil and its exposure to cryptocurrencies
Brazil is open currently for institutional and retail investors to trade 11 ETFs with the assistance of B3. Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has approved over 25 investment funds in Brazil that provide various sorts of exposure to the crypto-assets market.
B3’s head of information technology, Jochen Mielke de Lima, indicated in January that the Brazilian stock exchange will offer numerous cryptocurrencies-related products in 2022, including Bitcoin futures and Ethereum (ETH) futures.
During the time, she also expressed that the Brazilian stock exchange has been eyeing cryptocurrency from 2016 from a technological point of view. The only question that was left at that time was whether the negotiations should be carried out against Brazilian real or the US dollar.
B3 plans to offer services to national cryptocurrency exchanges and act as a “centralizer” of custody and settlement activities, in addition to BTC and ETH futures.
“We have around 30 national crypto exchanges, apart from the international ones that operate here. We could offer a service to facilitate and standardize their operations. I believe it has something to explore in providing custody services and in the settlement process.”
Jochen Mielke de Lima