Bitcoin hits all-time high after CME Group says to launch futures

[webfact]

Bitcoin hits all-time high after CME Group says to launch futures

By Jemima Kelly

 

A copy of bitcoin standing on PC motherboard is seen in this illustration picture, October 26, 2017. Picture taken October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin jumped to an all-time high above $6,300 on Tuesday, after the world's largest futures market operator CME Group said it would launch a regulated trading venue for cryptocurrencies in the fourth quarter of 2017.

 

The new futures contracts will be settled in cash, based on the CME 'CF Bitcoin Reference Rate', a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin, the company said.

 

The price of bitcoin jumped to as high as $6338.60 according to trade website Coindesk's price index, which aggregates the prices quoted across several exchanges. That was up from around $6,215 before the news.

 

On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin jumped to as high as $6,351, up almost 4 percent on the day.

 

Bitcoin has surged in value by around 555 percent so far this year.

 

(Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by John Geddie)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-01

[Skeptic7]

These valuations seem over the top. Up 555% this year. Up 62,000% in 5 years. Talk about irrational exuberance!

555 is not only the YTD gain, but also insanely funny. Great for those who have profited from such speculation, but anyone else see a mighty crash in it's future?