CBOE CEO Blasts 'Uncalled For' Bitcoin Futures Critiques

CBOE's chief executive is pushing back at suggestions that the exchange's newly-launched bitcoin futures market was hastily done.

Speaking to Financial News, Edward Tilly said that objections like those raised by the Futures Industry Association in an open letter last week are "uncalled for" and doesn't reflect the reality of the regulatory approval process. As an institution that trades commodity-backed derivatives, the CBOE is overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),

He told the publication:

"I think letters like that and cheap shots to our regulator, the CFTC, are uncalled for to make it seem this was an overnight self-certification without the proper amount of CFTC involvement. This is just irresponsible. I respect all the concerns that the industry has but when it's articulated in the way the FIA did, not so much."

In that letter, released last week, FIA chief executive Walt Lukken said that members are concerned about the volatility around cryptocurrency prices, while also attacking the process that led to the yesterday's futures launch.

"A public discussion should have been had on whether a separate guarantee fund for this product was appropriate or whether exchanges put additional capital in front of the clearing member guarantee fund," Lukken wrote at the time.

Similar objections were previously raised by Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy who, in an ad in the Wall Street Journal, argued that bitcoin derivatives activity should be siloed off from the broader market.

Tilly explained that the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), a clearinghouse focused on equities derivatives, clears the contracts for CBOE.

"Again, I default to their expertise and I'm comfortable with their decision," he told the publication.

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