Swiss banks launch mini-futures for Bitcoin

While CME Group is only planning to launch a test network with Bitcoin futures, Swiss bank Vontobel and financial company Leonteq Securities AG announced the release of derivatives, which allow earning both on growth and on the drop in the price of Bitcoin. Vontobel is the second largest supplier of complex integrated financial instruments in the country. The bank announced the launch of two types of mini-futures for Bitcoin.

Mini futures are derivative instruments in which the functions of futures and options are combined, however, they have a much smaller contract size than a conventional futures contract. Bank Vontobel offers its customers daisies, with which you can put on a price reduction or hedge it. Now Bitcoin is trading at record highs and daily price fluctuations sometimes exceed 10%. It is because of this behavior of the crypto currency that the vice-president of the ECB, Vitor Constancio, called Bitcoin "a speculative instrument. "Derevatives from Leonteq Securities AG will have a two-month maturity, Vontobel mini-futures will have a longer period. Borrowing of new Bitcoin derivatives from Swiss financial institutions will be on the SIX Exchange. 

The advantage of a mini-future certificate compared with a futures contract is the limited loss potential, Eric Blattmann head of public distribution of financial products at Vontobel, which will launch a short mini future on SIX Exchange on Friday.

"We have seen big demand for our long tracker certificate from investors interested in playing the upside potential of bitcoin, and now they have also the possibility to hedge their position or go short," 

Blattmann said.