CME Group Adds New Exchange to Bitcoin Index

By Pete Rizzo,

CME Group has added China-based digital currency exchange OKCoin to its bitcoin pricing indexes, first announced in May.

Created through a partnership with London-based Crypto Facilities, the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index are scheduled to go into beta at the beginning of October, with a public beta to begin in November.

 Already included in the index are major digital currency exchanges including Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Coinbase, Genesis Global Trading, itBit and Kraken.

In statements, OKCoin told CoinDesk the move reflects its increased focus on compliance following its hiring of former BitPay employee Tim Byun as chief risk officer.

“As the largest Asia based Bitcoin exchange, OKCoin believes this initiative is a significant step for the development of the digital asset class,” OKCoin CEO Star Xu said.

The development comes amid growing institutional interest in the digital currency markets, with two proposed bitcoin ETFs currently awaiting approval.