Argentina’s Futures and Options Exchange says it is taking “tentative crypto steps” – and could be set to follow the American bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) rush.
Per La Capital, the Rosario-based exchange, known as the Matba Roflex, has put forward a “Bitcoin Index” proposal to create a futures and options contract. The bid will be mulled by the regulatory National Securities Commission.
Matba Roflex’s deputy general manager of financial markets Ismael Caram was quoted as stating:
“We have seen a lot of movements from regulated exchanges around the world that are going in that direction. That has encouraged us to head in this direction here in Argentina.”
The move could potentially open the door for Argentinian crypto ETFs, which could well prove a hit considering the fast-growing popularity of crypto in the nation. Some investors have turned to BTC and altcoins as hyperinflation-mitigating measures have restricted public access to foreign currencies such as the USD.
Perhaps even more significantly, Matba Roflex also announced that it will make “direct investments in cryptoassets” and “startups related to the [crypto] industry,” plunging “up to 5% of its liquid portfolio” into tokens, with another undisclosed amount earmarked for crypto and fintech venture capital investments.
The index could be an outlier in some sense, as would be measured in the troubled peso, rather than making use of the American dollar.
Caram claimed that the exchange had been working on the index since August 2020, albeit behind closed doors with “internal research and development” projects. The exchange then followed up earlier this year by sealing “agreements with different players and participants” from the Argentinian crypto scene, namely “exchanges and brokers” that buy or sell tokens.
Matba Roflex said that using its “10-12” partners, it would be able to update index prices 24 hours a day, on a minute-by-minute basis.
Of Matba Roflex’s forthcoming investments in coins and startups, Caram stated that the moves would help the exchange “get to know all the mechanisms [of the crypto scene],” and “how [crypto] works.” He repeatedly stated that the move was “preliminary and partial,” but concluded:
“The [move] will help [us] internally, as we learn how to manage a portfolio [comprised] of these products.”
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Learn more:
– Here’s What You Need to Know About the Bitcoin Futures ETF
– As Crypto Derivatives Market Grows, Analysts Asses Their Impact On Prices
– Argentina’s President Calls Crypto a ‘Hard Currency’ that Can Fight Inflation
– Argentinian MP Calls for Gov’t Mining Answers as Crypto Real Estate Interest Grows
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