The first ever contract for bitcoin futures expired on January 17th, on a day of turbulent trading in cryptocurrencies which saw bitcoin\'s price drop back below $10,000 for the first time in weeks.

The contract was first launched by the Cboe (Chicago Board Options Exchange) on December 10th. Its first steps were tentative and there were some technical issues with the exchange platform, but these were soon resolved. The day the contract opened saw a steep climb in price to above $15,000. When the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) also opened its books on bitcoin futures the following week, bitcoin prices skyrocketed to over $20,000.

According to CNBC data, the Cboe’s F8 contract was settled at a closing price of $11,055. This is regarded as notable, on a day when bitcoin\'s price sank to just over $9,000. However, immediately after the F8 contractsettlement period, prices began to rally, with all cryptocurrencies making a strong recovery. By January 18th, the price of bitcoin was already back up over $11,000.

Data from Cboe on its next futures contract (the G8, scheduled to expire on February 14th) suggests that the contract is trading a little below market average, with the company\'s official website showing a price of $11,220.00.