-
Shares
of
Coinbase
fell
nearly
8%
on
Thursday
to
a
price
of
$202.49. -
The
drop
came
after
a
report
from
the
Financial
Times
that
futures
exchange
CME
was
considering
offering
spot
bitcoin
trading
to
its
clients.
Shares
of
Coinbase
dropped
nearly
8%
to
$202.49
during
U.S.
morning
hours
on
Thursday
after
a
Financial
Times
report
that
the
Chicago
Mercantile
Exchange
(CME)
might
soon
offer
spot
bitcoin
trading
amid
strong
interest
from
clients.
Cryptocurrencies
were
up
on
the
day.
The
CoinDesk
20
Index,
which
tracks
20
of
the
largest
digital
tokens
by
market
capitalization,
is
0.91%
higher
over
the
past
24
hours.
Bitcoin
(BTC)
was
up
by
half
a
percent
as
it
continued
to
profit
from
Wednesday’s
better-than-expected
inflation
report.
COIN
is
up
29%
year-to-date
as
crypto
prices
have
rallied
since
the
beginning
of
the
year.
Chicago-based
CME,
with
a
history
dating
back
more
than
a
century,
is
the
largest
futures
exchange
globally
and
a
financial
powerhouse.
Until
recently,
Coinbase
profited
strongly
from
being
the
most
trusted
crypto
exchange
in
the
U.S.,
but
that
advantage
could
change
if
CME
comes
into
play.
The
CME
has
been
designated
by
U.S.
regulators
as
a
“systemically
important
financial
market
utility,”
a
designation
that
implies
it’s
subject
to
more
strict
supervision.
Many
investors
also
assume
that
the
designation
implies
the
government
would
never
let
the
CME
fail
in
the
event
of
financial
duress.
CME
is
already
the
biggest
bitcoin
futures
exchange
by
open
interest
in
the
U.S.
The
exchange
said
that
it
has
been
holding
meetings
with
traders
who
wish
to
trade
bitcoin
on
a
regulated
marketplace,
people
familiar
with
the
matter
told
the
Financial
Times.
A
common
reason
for
traders
not
wanting
to
touch
digital
assets
is
the
lack
of
trust
in
crypto
exchanges,
especially
after
a
series
of
bad
players
were
outed
in
recent
years,
including
the
once
highly-popular
crypto
exchange
FTX.
Recently
launched
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
gave
traders
a
safer
way
to
invest
in
the
token,
which
over
500
institutions
took
advantage
of
within
only
the
first
three
months
of
existence,
allocating
over
$10
billion
in
the
funds
alone.
The
rest,
over
$40
billion,
came
from
retail
traders.