Attention Bitcoin bears! You have one month left to short

Abstract: On October 31, the CME Group announced that it will launch Bitcoin futures starting in the fourth quarter of 2017, pending the conclusion of all relevant regulatory reviews. Today, CNBC quoted Terry Duffy, Chairman and CEO of CME Group, as saying that Bitcoin futures may start trading as early as the second week of December, which means that Bitcoin shorts only need to wait for a month before they can short Bitcoin.

An article published on October 31st in Wall Street Journal shows that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) announced on the same day that it will launch Bitcoin futures starting in the fourth quarter of 2017, pending the completion of all relevant regulatory reviews.

Today, CNBC quoted CME Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy as saying that Bitcoin futures may begin trading as early as the second week of December, which means that Bitcoin shorts only need to wait for a month before they can short Bitcoin.

Wall Street News reported earlier today that Bitcoin had a roller coaster ride in November. After CME announced the launch of Bitcoin futures on October 31, Bitcoin broke records one after another, reaching a new high of $7,888 on November 8. However, Bitcoin plunged all the way last Friday, with the price falling from $7,888 on November 8 to $5,555.6 on Sunday, a drop of 30%. According to Bitstamp data, Bitcoin rebounded sharply by $1,000 from its two-and-a-half-week low on Sunday, a 15% increase in 12 hours. Bitcoin is now trading around $6,500.

Due to concerns about the sharp rise and fall of Bitcoin, CME plans to set three intraday volatility limits of 7%, 13% and 20% for the Bitcoin futures to be launched this year. According to CME documents previously obtained by The Wall Street Journal, CME's restrictions on Bitcoin futures volatility will be divided into three levels. When the intraday trading price rises or falls by 7% and 13% compared with the previous day's closing price, trading may be suspended for 2 minutes and then resumed. When the volatility reaches 20%, all-day trading may end there.

CNBC quoted Duffy as saying that he did not want to control the volatility of Bitcoin, but just wanted to make people aware of the risks of Bitcoin. He also added that if Bitcoin fluctuates too much, CME's "velocity logic functionality" system may suspend Bitcoin trading for an hour, which can make the market more orderly.