• Cash-Settled Bitcoin Futures on MAS Regulated Exchange
  Asia Pacific Exchange (APEX) will be launching its first APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract (ticker symbol BTC) on 5 May 2022, in response to growing client demand for the booming digital asset. APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract (ticker symbol BTC) is a USD-denominated cash-settled monthly contract based on Compass Crypto Reference Index Bitcoin (CCRIBTC) Price published by Compass Financial Technologies SA. The contract size of APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract is 50 milliBitcoin/lot (0.05 BTC). APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract expires on the last Friday of the contract month and the nearest 6 consecutive monthly contracts are listed.

There are several advantages of trading APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures. These include:

• Price discovery in Asian time zone
  Tailored for the Asian market, settlement of APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract follows the Asian time zone at 18:00hr Singapore time, the first globally.
• Robust pricing mechanism with the input of prices from a basket of eligible spot exchanges
  The Final Settlement Prices of APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract are derived from CCRIBTC Price, a Bitcoin spot price index administered by Compass Financial Technologies (France). CCRIBTC. Regulated by the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers as a Registered Benchmark Administrator under the European Union Benchmarks Regulations, Compass adopts a robust methodology in computing the average spot market price based on a time-series of trade data from a basket of eligible cryptocurrency exchanges.
• Centrally Cleared contract for lower counterparty risks
  APEX Bitcoin Monthly futures Contract offers lower counterparty risk as each contract is cleared by a regulated clearing house (in this case Asia Pacific Clear Pte Ltd, an Approved Clearing House regulated by MAS) with robust risk management frameworks in place (e.g. margin methodologies, guaranty fund)
• No security concern of holding underlying asset
  APEX Bitcoin Futures Contracts are cash settled in USD. Trading of such Contracts does not require maintaining a digital wallet, hence minimizing the risk of theft of the underlying Bitcoin.
• Small contract size for more precise hedging
  APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract offers traders exposure to the leading cryptocurrency in bite-sized contracts to hedge their risks more efficiently with better precision. It is an ideal trading instrument for investors in terms of flexibility and risk hedging.

APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract allows you to manage your risk in cryptocurrencies and gain valuable exposure in this growing asset class, safely and securely. It provides diversification to trading portfolio for investors and, being a futures contract, it can serve as a hedging instrument to help you manage price volatility in cryptocurrencies.

About APEX

Founded in 2018, Asia Pacific Exchange (APEX) is a derivatives exchange approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It is the third derivatives “Approved Exchange” and “Approved Clearing House” in Singapore after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). All products launched by APEX are regulated under the Securities and Futures Act. This ensures safety of your margins placed for the trading of APEX Bitcoin Futures Contracts.

APEX strives to be the leading regulated derivatives marketplace in Asia Pacific. As such, APEX management is made up of a team of dedicated professionals with extensive experience in the capital markets and executive management.

Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua is the Chairman of APEX. Mrs. Lim has a wealth of experience in the financial industry and has been a vital asset to APEX. She was a former minister in the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office and concurrently second minister for Finance and Transport. Prior to joining the Singapore Cabinet, Mrs. Lim served as Research Manager at Swiss Bank Corporation and Head of Research, Director of Business Development at Jardine Fleming and lastly joined Temasek Holdings in 2000 as Managing Director of Corporate Stewardship, and subsequently of Strategic Relations.

Mr. Eugene Zhu Yuchen is the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of APEX. Mr. Zhu is a pioneer of China’s futures industry and had played pivotal roles during the industry’s development. Mr. Zhu served as the founding CEO of Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE). Mr. Zhu also founded China’s first financial derivatives exchange, China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX), where he successfully launched the country’s first stock index futures contract (i.e. CSI 300 Index futures contract). In 2012, Mr. Zhu went on to serve as the CEO of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the largest bank in Shanghai. Under the guidance and leadership of Mrs. Lim and Mr. Zhu, APEX is ready to take the next lap of growth.

As the Chief Regulatory Officer, Ms. Tze Ching Chang ensures that APEX strictly follows stringent regulatory practices and strategies. Before joining APEX in 2019, Tze Ching spent more than 15 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, regulating Financial Market Infrastructures such as exchanges and clearing houses, and developing the Singapore capital markets. Tze Ching sits on the DBS Digital Exchange Appeals and Conflicts Committee, and the Examinations Board at the Institute of Banking & Finance Singapore.

Overseeing the company’s Sales and Marketing is Mr Chong Lit Sam, Chief Commercial Officer. Sam has more than 10 years of working experience in both exchanges and brokerages. Prior to joining APEX in 2017, he worked in Singapore Exchange and Phillip Securities, gaining valuable knowledge in the financial markets.

Driven by a team of highly experienced and dedicated professional, APEX aims to continually design new contracts to fill market gaps so as to provide a regulated, reliable and efficient trading venue for investors dealing in cryptocurrencies, delivering excellence and achieving success.

For more information about APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract, please visit https://www.asiapacificex.com/?p=bitcoin_monthly_futures

FAQs

• Is APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract Regulated?
  Regulated by MAS, APEX and APEX Clear respectively hold the “Approved Exchange” and “Approved Clearing House” licenses. All products launched by APEX are regulated by the MAS under the Securities and Futures Act. This ensures the safety of all margins placed for the trading of APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract.
• Do I need a digital wallet to trade the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract?
  No, a digital wallet will not be required to trade the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures contracts as they are cash settled in USD.
• What are the trading hours for the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract?
  APEX’s trading hours are as follow.
  T Session: 07:00hr – 18:00hr (GMT+8)
  T+1 Session: 19:30hr – 05:30hr (GMT+8)
• How is the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract’s Daily Settlement Price determined?
  The Daily Settlement Price of the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract on a given day shall be the volume-weighted average of the traded prices of all transactions occurred during the last minute of the given day’s Day Session, or other methodology as set forth by the Clearing House. The Daily Settlement Price shall be rounded to the nearest US $0.005/milliBitcoin.
• Who is the index provider for the APEX Bitcoin Monthly Futures Contract?
  The benchmark provider is Compass Financial Technologies (France). It is registered as a Benchmark Administrator by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) under the EU Benchmarks Regulations (EU BMR).