Image: Bitnovosti

U.S. banking giant Citigroup is awaiting approval to begin trading Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the source said. The use of Bitcoin as a trading instrument is dictated by a surge in demand among customers.

An anonymous source at Citigroup told CoinDesk that the bank is currently awaiting approval to begin trading Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The source said that Citigroup faced a recent surge in demand for Bitcoin among its customers, which prompted it to take this step. If approved, Citi will become the second largest bank after Goldman Sachs to offer Bitcoin futures trading.

At CoinDesk's request, a Citigroup spokesperson confirmed via email that their clients are increasingly interested in investing in the crypto space.

“Our clients are increasingly interested in this space, and we are monitoring these developments. Given the many questions around regulatory frameworks, supervisory expectations, and other factors, we are being very thoughtful about our approach.”

In addition, the source confirmed that the bank is considering futures for some of its institutional investors.

“We are presently considering products such as futures for some of our institutional clients, as these operate under strong regulatory frameworks.”

A second person familiar with cryptocurrency derivatives markets said Citi is actively recruiting people to join a crypto-focused team in London, adding:

“The team is likely to win approval to begin trading CME bitcoin futures first and then bitcoin exchange-traded notes (ETNs).”

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter

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