CME Group is scheduled to begin offering standard and micro futures contracts tied to Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap on Oct. 19, subject to regulatory review, giving traders new listed derivatives linked to two digital assets. The launch comes during a week crowded with inflation, employment, housing and business-activity data that could influence wider crypto-market sentiment.
According to CoinDesk, the derivatives marketplace is also among the companies reporting earnings this week. Tesla, Nasdaq and Blackstone are scheduled to publish results as well, although most of their businesses are not directly connected to cryptocurrencies.
CME expands its crypto derivatives lineup
CME plans to introduce both standard and micro Bitcoin Cash (BCH) futures and standard and micro Uniswap (UNI) futures. Futures are exchange-traded contracts whose value is linked to an underlying asset; standard and micro versions generally provide different contract sizes, allowing market participants to choose between larger and smaller exposures. The source material does not provide the contract specifications beyond those categories.
The planned launch is subject to regulatory review. CME is one of the world’s largest derivatives marketplaces, so the addition would place BCH and UNI alongside the exchange’s existing listed products. The event is notable because it broadens the range of crypto-linked instruments available through a major regulated derivatives venue, even though the source does not state how the products will perform or how much trading activity they will attract.
A separate crypto-market event is scheduled for Oct. 21. CoinShares’ bitcoin and ether exchange-traded fund is expected to halt trading before the market opens as the fund liquidates. An ETF is an investment vehicle that trades on an exchange and can hold or track assets, while liquidation means the fund is being wound down. The material does not give a reason for the liquidation or specify its financial impact.
Inflation and activity indicators on the calendar
The week beginning Oct. 19 includes several releases that may help shape the direction of digital assets after the previous week’s key U.S. inflation reports. The figures cover major economies and range from consumer prices to labor-market and business-activity measures.
Canada’s September consumer-price data is due Oct. 19. The previous monthly reading was a 0.1% decline, while the previous annual reading was 3.0%. U.S. housing starts and building permits for September are scheduled for Oct. 20, with estimates of 1.30 million and 1.40 million, respectively, compared with previous readings of 1.275 million and 1.394 million.
The U.K. is due to release September inflation figures on Oct. 21. Previous readings were 0.5% month over month, 3.1% year over year and 2.6% for core annual inflation. On Oct. 22, the U.S. is scheduled to publish initial jobless claims for the period ending Oct. 17, with an estimate of 200,000 against a previous 199,000.
Consumer and business sentiment data will round out the week. Eurozone consumer confidence for October is due Oct. 22, with the previous reading at -16.5. Japan’s September inflation figures are scheduled for the same day, including headline annual inflation of 1.9%, inflation excluding fresh food of 1.7% and inflation excluding fresh food and energy of 1.9%.
Flash October Purchasing Managers’ Indexes, or PMIs, are due Oct. 23. These surveys are used to assess activity across parts of the economy and provide composite readings. The previous eurozone composite PMI was 53.1, while the previous U.S. composite PMI was 58.4. The final University of Michigan U.S. consumer-sentiment reading for October is also due, following a preliminary reading of 46.3.
Token votes, unlocks and company results
Several blockchain governance decisions are scheduled during the week. Ethereum’s All Core Devs Testing call No. 101 will discuss Glamsterdam and Hegotá testing. WalletConnect is voting on changes to staking incentives, while ZKsync is voting on resubmitting its v31 upgrade with corrected calldata. Arbitrum DAO is considering L1-pricing changes, a voting recovery system, the transfer of 1,700 ETH to specified strategies and USDG as a core strategic initiative.
Other votes involve QuickSwap’s Soneium deployment, Starknet’s possible research into an independent post-quantum L1, Optimism’s proposed transfer of Unichain sequencer operations and fee routing, and the mainnet activation of ENSv2. The ENS vote is scheduled to end Oct. 25.
Token unlocks are also scheduled. LayerZero’s ZRO is set to release tokens equal to 3.83% of its circulating supply, valued at $44 million in the source material, on Oct. 20. Humanity’s H is scheduled to unlock 6.84%, valued at $15.27 million, and Plasma’s XPL 5.02%, valued at $17.76 million, on Oct. 25. No major token launches are listed.
CME Group is due to report earnings before the market opens on Oct. 21, with an earnings figure of $2.98 listed in the calendar. Tesla is scheduled to report after the close the same day, with $0.40 listed. Nasdaq and Blackstone are due to report before the market opens on Oct. 22, with $1.02 and $1.29 listed, respectively.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 10:03-10:04 p.m. local time on Oct. 19 showed Bitcoin at $81,990.46, up 0.57% over 24 hours but down 0.68% over seven days. Uniswap was at $7.2673, rising 3.34% in 24 hours and 0.53% over seven days. Bitcoin Cash stood at $278.17, up 3.36% over 24 hours and 2.64% over seven days. ECOMI was priced at $0.0002776, up 1.19% over 24 hours and down 1.05% over seven days.
