CME Group and CF Benchmarks have announced that they will be introducing new APAC Reference Rates for Bitcoin and Ether in September. The CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate APAC (BRRAP) and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate APAC (ETHUSD_AP) will provide a daily reference point for the value of these cryptocurrencies in US dollars. These rates will be published at 4 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore time.
In addition to these new APAC-focused rates, non-tradable reference rates will also be introduced. The CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate New York will be published at 4 p.m. New York time, while the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate will be published at 4 p.m. London time. These benchmarks will continue to guide settlement for CME Group's Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts.
The introduction of these APAC reference rates aims to meet the evolving needs of global participants in the digital asset space. With a significant portion of crypto volume traded during non-U.S. hours, including 11% from the APAC region, these rates will allow market participants to hedge cryptocurrency price risk more accurately and precisely.
CF Benchmarks, which facilitates financial institutions in providing regulated financial products, is pleased to support the introduction of APAC variants to their market-defining Bitcoin Reference Rate and Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. These benchmarks will be calculated and administered to the same standards as their existing London and New York counterparts, building investor and institutional confidence in crypto financial products.