Bitcoin futures pricing kindles manipulation fears

CME and CBOE insist pricing methodology is robust; critics say contracts are ripe for manipulation

The new bitcoin futures contracts that began trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange earlier this month aim to give investors exposure to bitcoin without the perils of dealing directly with the fledgling exchanges where the cryptocurrency is traded.

But critics worry the settlement pricing methodologies for the contracts, which rely on only a portion of all bitcoin trading volume, makes them susceptible to manipulation.

The CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR)