Bitcoin Futures Deliver Wild Ride as Debut Brings Rally, Halts

"It is rare that you see something more volatile than bitcoin, but we found it: bitcoin futures," said Zennon Kapron, managing director of Shanghai-based consulting firm Kapronasia.

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"It was smooth, and bitcoin traders don't seem to be put off by futures," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst in London at online trading firm Oanda. "There was a fear that short selling would have an adverse impact on price, but we haven't seen that yet."

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The roughly $1,300 difference reflects not only the novelty of the asset but also the difficulty of using the cash-settled futures to trade against the spot, strategists said.

"In a normal, functioning market, good old arbitrage would settle this," Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Hellerup, Denmark, said by email. "If they were deliverable you could arbitrage the life out of it."