LedgerX “Not Yet Approved” by CFTC to Launch Physical Bitcoin Futures

The United States Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) confirmed that LedgerX has not yet been approved to offer physically-settled Bitcoin futures in contrary to previous announcements.

LedgerX has officially launched their product on July 31, as they revealed to CoinDesk that they had launched the first physically-settled Bitcoin futures contracts in the U.S, surpassing Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt and TD Ameritrade-backed ErisX. CEO of LedgerX, Paul Chou disclosed to the media that retail customers can now be able to trade the product using the company’s new platform.

CFTC Chief Communications Officer Michael Short said in an emailed statement on Aug 1, “LedgerX has not yet been approved by the commission.” The CFTC approved LedgerX as a designated contract market (DCM), which was one of the two approvals LedgerX needed to proceed with the launch.

However, the CFTC has not yet approved the amendment the derivatives clearing organization (DCO) license. The CFTC states that they have 180 days to approve or deny a DCO application, which led to the conclusion by the LedgerX team that this period has passed, and they have not received an objection from the CFTC as they submitted the amendment on Nov 8, 2018. Paul Cho added that since it has been more than 180 days, they do not understand why the amendment has not been approved. He also added that there is little difference between swaps and futures products, but officially, they still lack the approval to launch physical Bitcoin futures.