CME's Bitcoin Cash and UNI futures set to debut as BCH open interest falls

what happened

CME Group is preparing to launch new crypto futures tied to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Uniswap's UNI token on October 19, according to Crypto Briefing. The listing was announced on September 22, 2026 and is subject to regulatory approval. Once live, the exchange's crypto futures lineup will total 11 products, alongside its existing Bitcoin and Ether contracts.

Both products settle in cash against CME CF reference prices, so no tokens change hands. For BCH, the standard contract (BCA) covers 250 BCH and the Micro version (MCH) covers 25 BCH. For UNI, the standard contract represents 10,000 tokens and the Micro (MUN) represents 1,000. Block trades and Basis Trade at Index Close variants are also eligible.

Santiment data cited in the report shows BCH rose roughly 25-30% after the announcement and open interest nearly doubled to around $295 million. By October 18 it had fallen back to about 560,000 BCH, close to the pre-announcement level. UNI's reaction was noticeably weaker.

why it matters

The biggest moves came on the announcement, not the launch. The open interest reversal points to short-term speculative positioning rather than durable new demand. For UNI, attention centers on the ETF requirement: pending applications need six months of futures trading history, which a regulated CME market could help build. Traders should watch early volume and open interest, especially in the Micro contracts.

market impact

BCH and UNI: new CME futures could broaden derivatives demand and shift short-term positioning in these tokens

tags

instruments