The highly anticipated launch of Bitcoin futures on the CBOE exchange was as fortuitous as one could expect in the world of cryptocurrencies, as the trading platform crashed in the first hour of being open.
Having scoffed at cryptocurrency exchanges struggling to meet the massive influx of people trying to enter the market over the past two weeks, mainstream financial institutions caught a glimpse of the behemoth that Bitcoin has become.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin futures have officially been launched and their reality has seen the market react positively.
Social media platforms were understandably busy - and people from all walks of life were giving their two cents worth in reaction to the newly launch futures.
Renowned stock picker Ronnie Moas reflected back on the launch of Amazon back in 1997 and how it has grown and survived the notorious dot.com bubble. He also threw in hopes of a $100,000 high:
This user claimed to be the first ever person to secure a Bitcoin futures contract:
American actor James Woods has been outspoken about Bitcoin in recent times, taking a speculative and cautious stance at the very best.
Financial commentator and broadcaster Brian Kelly captured the first three Bitcoin futures listed on CBOE:
Bitcoin podcaster Trace Meyer took a dig at CBOE and Coinbase as their sites went down - while noting the Bitcoin network was going strong:
Financial editor Holger Zschaepitz highlighted the most important fact - Bitcoin price was somewhat stable while the CBOE crashed.
Long week ahead
While the initial launch of Bitcoin futures didn’t go as smoothly as CBOE may have hoped, the reality and effect of futures will only be truly felt when trading moves into full swing later today.
Nevertheless, CBOE tweeted that nearly 1,000 contract trades had been placed after two hours of initial trading.
Bloomberg reported that two price circuit breakers were triggered during the first few hours of trading - an automated mechanism which is used to control volatility. CBOE will cut trading for five minutes if the Bitcoin price rallies by more than 30 percent.