Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rose sharply after CME Group said it will add cash-settled Bitcoin Cash futures to its regulated crypto lineup on October 19, subject to review. As of early September 23 (11:05 AM UTC), BCH was trading at $353—up 30.2% in the past 24 hours—with a 24 hours trading volume of $1.82 billion.
The Chicago-based exchange announced the products on September 22 alongside Uniswap futures, framing both as a response to demand for institutional-style hedging tools in larger altcoin markets.
The move is the clearest near-term explanation for BCH’s breakout from the mid-$200s. Spot prices jumped as traders priced in a new venue for exposure and risk transfer, while 24-hour turnover expanded with the news. The reaction does not guarantee lasting demand. CME said the listing remains pending regulatory review and will be subject to CME rules. Futures also do not require buyers to hold coins, so the listing is a derivatives event first and a spot-demand event only if institutions later use the contracts in ways that pull liquidity into the underlying market.
The contracts sit inside a broader 2026 expansion that already includes Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche and Sui futures. CME reported first-half 2026 crypto futures and options average daily volume of 279,800 contracts, or $8.3 billion in notional value, with average open interest of 264,600 contracts, or $15.4 billion. Earlier listings this year contributed more than $1 billion in notional value, according to the same statement.
What CME plans to list
Market participants would be able to trade larger and Micro contracts. Bitcoin Cash futures would cover 250 BCH under ticker BCA, with Micro Bitcoin Cash futures covering 25 BCH under ticker MCH. Uniswap futures would cover 10,000 UNI, with Micro contracts covering 1,000 UNI. CME’s product page also lists Basis Trade at Index Close codes for the new markets.
Giovanni Vicioso, CME’s global head of cryptocurrency products, said participants “require broader, regulated tools to navigate evolving digital asset related price risk,” and that the contracts are “designed for greater versatility and capital efficiency” inside the firm’s 24/7 marketplace.
Volatility Shares CEO Justin Young called the addition “another important step” in expanding CME’s crypto futures offering. Ripple Prime President Noel Kimmel said institutions need around-the-clock access to regulated derivatives with matching clearing and financing infrastructure.
The products would be cash settled against CME CF reference rates, meaning profits and losses would be paid in dollars rather than in BCH or UNI. That structure matches CME’s other single-asset crypto futures. The exchange has already moved much of that complex onto a 24/7 schedule, a change that matters for weekend hedging and for reducing gaps that once formed when U.S. futures markets were closed.
Contract size is large enough to matter for desks that already trade CME Bitcoin and Ether products, while the Micro versions lower the notional hurdle. A 250 BCH standard contract is a different instrument from a spot ETF share or an offshore perpetual. It is standardized, centrally cleared and designed for price discovery and offsets across CME’s crypto suite. Those features explain why traders treated the news as more than a routine listing rumor.
Price reaction and what remains unproven
BCH’s rally followed the announcement almost immediately, with the token moving from about $270 through $300 and later trading near the mid-$350s as volume rose. The Crypto Times earlier reported that Bitcoin Cash jumped after the futures plan became public, and separately detailed CME’s October 19 target and cash-settlement design. Those reports tracked the same official notices now driving the move.
A second, older filing is part of the backdrop but is not the same catalyst. Grayscale’s amended Form S-3 for the Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust, dated September 11, says the sponsor intends to rename the vehicle Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust ETF and list shares on NYSE Arca under ticker BCHG if the registration becomes effective. As of June 30, 2026, the filing listed NAV of about $76.6 million and said each share represented roughly 0.0081 BCH. That paperwork is not an approval. It is a conversion attempt that still depends on regulatory effectiveness and listing conditions.
The distinction matters for readers watching BCH this week. CME named a date. Grayscale named an intended ticker. Neither product is live. If review delays the October 19 start, some of the premium priced into BCH could fade. If the contracts open and attract open interest, the listing could still matter more as a hedging venue than as a guarantee of higher spot prices.
Bitcoin Cash remains a 2017 Bitcoin fork with a 21 million max supply and about 20.09 million coins circulating. It is already widely listed. The new question is narrower: whether a CFTC-facing futures market changes who can hold BCH risk, and whether that change lasts after the first week of headlines.
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