Bitcoin mania now extends to futures trading.þþCboe’s recently introduced futures proved so popular that the Chicago exchange’s website went down amid overwhelming traffic and circuit breakers were triggered — twice.þþAs of this morning, Bitcoin futures hit $17,540, from an open of $15,000.þþ“It is rare that you see something more volatile than bitcoin, but we found it: Bitcoin futures,” Zennon Kapron, managing director of the Shanghai-based consulting firm Kapronasia, told Bloomberg.þþWhy the frenzy? Futures are the first way that investors can bet on the direction of Bitcoin without having to buy the digital currency.þþThe Bitcoin flyaroundþþ• About 40 percent of all Bitcoins are held by about 1,000 users. (Bloomberg)þþ• Could China be the one to tamp down the Bitcoin frenzy? (MIT Technology Review)þþ• A sign of the times: A gas station near Newark Airport reportedly has a Bitcoin A.T.M. (Twitter)þþ
Source: NY Times
