CME Group aims to launch futures contract by the end of the year, in big endorsement of digital currency.

CME Group plans to launch a futures contract based on bitcoin, a big step toward moving the digital currency into the financial mainstream. The Chicago-based exchange operator said Tuesday it aims to launch the futures contract by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. Introducing a U.S. futures contract based on bitcoin would allow a way for Wall Street banks and trading firms to hedge against price swings in the highly volatile digital currency. It could also provide retail investors with an easier way to trade bitcoin, adding it to the ranks of assets like gold and oil that trade via futures contracts. “It is a legitimization of bitcoin as an asset class,” said Daniel Masters, chairman of the Global Advisors group of companies, which runs a bitcoin hedge fund and exchange-traded notes linked to digital currencies.

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