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The largest Argentine futures market is getting ready to dive into the Bitcoin ecosystem.
As reported by Bloomberg the Mercury of Termino de Rosario – better known as Rofex – is preparing to officially announce the addition of digital currency to its platform. After months of discussions, Rofex executives created a preliminary framework that would include custodial services, as well as the opportunity for customers to place bitcoin as collateral for futures contracts. The official announcement is expected by the end of the year.
Rofex is the second largest US futures market to unveil this week that it intends to engage in a booming crypto economy. The US exchange operator CME Group announced this week that it would become the first regulated US exchange to offer futures on Bitcoin, but Rofex's proposal is far from adding more. bitcoin futures.
"I would clearly like to do bitcoin futures because that is our core business," Diego Fernandez, director of Rofex, told Bloomberg. However, this does not seem likely to happen in the near future, as contracts should be approved by the National Securities Commission (NVC), the country's regulator, "which implies a longer process and an index or a reference value. "
CME had laid the groundwork last year by creating its proprietary Bitcoin price index, so that executives believe that they will receive quick regulatory approval. For Rofex, the process will begin with the launch of its custody and cash collateral services, potentially as early as next year.
Whatever the case may be, the announcement that Rofex will begin to offer digital currency services to its customers is a significant step forward for the adoption of Bitcoin in Argentina, a country subject to strong monetary restrictions and rampant inflation. Many Argentines have turned to Bitcoin to escape the debasement of the Argentine peso, and the volume of peer-to-peer exchanges has steadily increased since 2014.
Source: Bloomberg
This phenomenon is not localized in Argentina. Bitcoin has become a lifeline for many people in unstable financial markets around the world. In Zimbabwe, for example, the demand for bitcoin has so far surpassed supply, which is trading at almost twice the world average price. The price of bitcoin reached a new record of $ 13,900 in Zimbabwe on Friday, according to data from Golix, an exchange based in Harare.
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