Litecoin (LTC) derivatives are a go in the UK. Trading platform Crypto Facilities announced that as of Friday, June 22, their new dollar-denominated service will allow investors to trade in futures contracts which have Litecoin as the underpinning collateral, with weekly, monthly and quarterly maturities.
Litecoin Futures Ready to Go in the UK
The announcement comes only a month after the UK based platform launched Ethereum based contracts, increasing the number of crypto-based products already on offer for investors to long or go short including Bitcoin and the Ripple token XRP.
Litecoin creator Charlie Lee commented on the move, saying,
“Litecoin futures will open up LTC trading to more institutional investors. This will add to the liquidity of Litecoin and make it easier for people to get in and out of Litecoin.”
Timo Schlaefer, CEO of Crypto Facilities, said:
“We are excited to be launching futures on Litecoin, one of the most widely traded cryptocurrencies. There has been strong client demand for this product and we believe our LTC-Dollar futures contracts will increase price transparency, liquidity, and efficiency in the cryptocurrency markets. As digital assets continue to mature, we expect to see a greater number of institutional investors entering the marketplace.”
Crypto Facilities reported to an unnamed source that the firm is expecting the trading volume of its Ethereum futures contracts to reach around $150 million in this quarter, accounting for around 10 percent of the platform’s total. The move may have been responsible for a small spike in the price of Litecoin pushing it up near $100 earlier this morning but it quickly dropped off and settled on $97.80 at the time of writing according to livecoinwatch.com.
SEC Clarity may Include Litecoin
The announcement from Crypto Facilities comes only a week after the US Securities Exchange Commission head William Hinman made the public statement that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum would be considered as a security according to the federal regulatory body. President Concannon of CBoE global markets said the announcement “clears a key stumbling block for Ether futures”. The CBoE and CME have been trading Bitcoin futures since 2017 and have been eager to do the same with Ether.
This may be good news for Litecoin as well, as it operates under the same business model as Bitcoin. The news was not as good for Ripple (XRP), as the same statement that exonerated Bitcoin and Ethereum seemed to indicate Ripple’s token may end up being classified as a security. Ripple spokesman Tom Channick made a solid effort to put a positive spin on the announcement with an emailed statement that read in part. “We are pleased that the SEC has announced that it does not view Ether as a security. We believe that XRP likewise should not be classified as a security and look forward to confirmation from the SEC.”
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