The Financial Times has reported that the CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, is working on a plan to offer spot Bitcoin trading. This move comes in response to the increasing interest in crypto-based investments. The CME Group has reportedly held discussions with traders who are keen to buy and sell cryptocurrency on a regulated marketplace. While the plan is not yet finalized, it is expected that CME’s spot trading business will be operated through the EBS currency trading venue in Switzerland.

However, there is skepticism surrounding the derivatives giant operating its Bitcoin trading business across two different markets, namely CME in Chicago and EBS in Switzerland. A crypto trading executive doubts that they will be able to fully take advantage of the efficiencies available to them in this setup.

CME already offers Bitcoin futures trading, but the addition of spot trading for the top crypto asset will make it more convenient for investors to engage in basis trades. Basis trading is a popular strategy among professional crypto traders and involves borrowing funds to sell futures while simultaneously buying the underlying asset, thereby profiting from the price difference.

This development comes at a time when Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are gaining popularity among deep-pocketed investors. According to a Bloomberg senior ETF analyst, Boston-based hedge fund Bracebridge Capital holds $262 million worth of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, $81 million worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, and $20 million worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), JPMorgan Chase, a banking giant, disclosed that it now holds $760,000 in spot Bitcoin ETFs on behalf of its clients. These holdings are spread across BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF.

Wells Fargo, another banking titan, currently holds 2,245 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, with a value of $130,254.

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