CME CEO: Government’s Stance Crucial Before Institutionals Go Crypto

Fredrik Vold
Last updated: | 2 min read

Until governments really start to accept cryptocurrencies of some way, shape, or form, it’s gonna be very difficult for the major institutional investors to tap into crypto, according to the CEO of futures exchange operator CME Group, Terry Duffy.

Source: a video screenshot.

“We’ll have to do a wait and see,” he added in an interview with Bloomberg TV, when asked about what is holding institutions back from jumping with both feet into crypto.

“I was a big believer that we needed to go forward and list bitcoin in some way, shape, or form,” Duffy explained, while emphasizing that this is “a brand-new asset class that is coming to the marketplace, so you need to be able to walk before you run.”

In the interview, Duffy also touched on moves made by the major investment bank JPMorgan, which has become controversial in the crypto community after several polarizing statements about bitcoin by CEO Jamie Dimon. However, as pointed out by Duffy, even this bank is now turning positive towards crypto, and is even working on its very own “JPMorgan coin.”

“They were very […] pessimistic on the whole bitcoin idea a couple of years ago, and now they’re coming up with some offerings. Goldman Sachs is on the same way,” Duffy said, stressing that the key to the success of any currency, whether it’s fiat or crypto, is going to be associated with the government.

“So I think the government needs to be more involved,” he concluded.

Meanwhile cryptocurrency adoption just got another boost from institutional investors this week, as police officers and other state employees in Virginia’s Fairfax County will be looking forward to retirement with potential dividends from Bitcoin thanks to a new USD 40 million crypto venture fund by digital asset management firm Morgan Creek Digital.

As reported by Cryptonews.com, this year, governments will likely focus on two areas: taxation and regulation surrounding offerings/marketing to the public. Having seen that cryptocurrencies are becoming more safely policed, the general public may become more willing to use and adopt them.

Meanwhile, in Q3 of 2018, interest in bitcoin futures trading was growing steadily since the two leading futures exchanges in the US, CME Group and CBOE, launched their respective markets in December 2017.

Daily Exchange Volume Chart

Source: CME Group

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Open interest – the number of contracts or commitments outstanding in futures and options trading on an official exchange at any one time. Source: CME Group

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Watch the full interview with Terry Duffy. He also discussed things like how recent volatility in the financial markets have impacted CME Group’s results. His comments on crypto starts after 9:30.