Another financial trading institution has opened for bitcoin business, according to a CNBC report. On January 2nd the online stockbroking firm, E-Trade Financial Corporation of New York, announced the commencement of trading in CME bitcoin futures (BTC). In December the company had also launched CBOE bitcoin futures (XBT), following the opening of the cryptocurrency on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The new announcement follows the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launch, which took place a week later and fuelled the massive price fluctuation in bitcoin value at the back end of the year.

The American regulatory board CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) approved both Chicago exchanges to list bitcoin futures as a financial derivative on December 1st last year. The financial regulator was reported as saying that both those companies would pursue initial listings which would be self-certified, following collaboration with CFTC to set standards for the bitcoin offerings.

CBOE is America\'s largest financial options exchange, with an annual turnover exceeding $1bn. Its adoption led the way for the CME Group to follow suit with bitcoin futures and has encouraged other mainstream investors to join the market. A number of investment companies have opened books for trading on one or both of the bitcoin contracts, including Interactive Brokers Group, TD Ameritrade Holding Corp and Ally Invest, a division of Ally Financial Inc.