Argentina's futures exchange to launch Latin America's first regulated bitcoin futures

According to Bloomberg, Argentina's futures exchange Matba Rofex has received authorization from the country's securities regulator CNV to launch Latin America's first regulated bitcoin futures in May. This is a major innovation in the cryptocurrency field in the country and a breakthrough in the region.

"We are the first Latin American exchange to offer regulated bitcoin futures," Matba Rofex President Andres Ponte said in a statement. "We believe this will provide investors with a safe, transparent and compliant market to participate in this emerging asset class."

Matba Rofex will offer two types of bitcoin futures contracts, denominated in U.S. dollars and Argentine pesos respectively. Each contract will represent 0.01 bitcoin and will expire on the last trading day of each month. Investors may need to deposit about 40% of the contract value as margin.

Matba Rofex said that the underlying asset of the bitcoin futures will be a bitcoin price index, which will be provided by 12 different local crypto exchanges and will publish asset prices in Argentine pesos in real time. The index aims to reflect the true value of bitcoin in the Argentine market and avoid manipulation risks from a single source.

Matba Rofex also said that it has established partnerships with local crypto service providers and financial institutions to ensure the smooth operation of the bitcoin futures. The exchange also plans to launch other crypto-related products and services in the future to meet market demand and development.