The Bitcoin has made its debut on the world’s futures market, seeing the virtual currency price surge by 25 percent.
Due to the amount of interest, the CBOE has already had to pause trading twice to allow the volatility to cool off.
“Due to heavy traffic on our website, visitors to www.cboe.com may find that it is performing slower than usual and may at times be temporarily unavailable,” it said on the CBOE website.
The futures contract will expire in January. The cryptocurrency opened at $15,000 and are changing hands at $17,780.
The price of a bitcoin has rapidly increased since the start of 2017 when it was less than below $1,000. On December 7, the virtual currency hit a peak of over $16,858 on the bitcoin exchange Coindesk.
Major banks are approaching the bitcoin of futures trading with concern.
“Many larger Wall Street brokerages and clearinghouses, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are either not allowing customers to trade bitcoin futures or only allowing select clients to do so,” said the Associated Press.
“Other brokerages are putting restrictions on the amount of margin a trader can use in bitcoin futures, or putting limits on the amount that can be purchased. The digital currency has had more than its fair share of critics on Wall Street. JPMorgan Chase (LON: JMC) CEO Jamie Dimon has called bitcoin “a fraud.””
The most recent rally seen has continued to cause worry among investors, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s acting governor Grant Spencer saying the currency is a bubble that will only have a bad ending.
Bitcoin is currently the most popular virtual currency. They are alluring as they are not tied to a bank or government. Users are able to remain anonymous.
Chief market strategist at FXTM, Hussein Sayed, said that Bitcoins being traded on futures trading was garnering more attention that initially expected.
“The initial reaction was beyond expectations with the futures contract climbing more than 20 percent and triggering two trading halts. CBOE’s website experienced unprecedented traffic which may well have sent a new benchmark; the frenetic activity led to delays and outages.
“So far, it seems professional investors aren’t willing to bet against the bitcoin, despite the many warnings of a bubble that will burst soon.”