NEW YORK: Bitcoin landed on Wall Street with a bang.Four hours after the debut of Cboe Global Markets Inc.’s bitcoin futures, the contracts climbed more than 20 percent and triggered two trading halts designed to cool volatility. Until now, trading in bitcoin was driven mainly by individual investors who were willing to risk buying on mostly unregulated markets. Some users of those little-policed venues have been targeted by hackers who’ve stolen digital tokens.As of 10:15pm New York time on Sunday, bitcoin futures expiring in January were priced at $17,780, up from an opening level of $15,000. The exchange imposes circuit breakers to curb volatility, halting transactions for two minutes if prices rise or fall 10 percent. That’s higher than either Cboe’s or CME’s margin requirements.Cboe’s futures are cash-settled and based on the Gemini auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars.

Source: The Star December 11, 2017 03:33 UTC