The B3, a prominent Brazilian exchange, has begun trading the Ethereum and Solana futures contracts today. This represents the first step in a plan to offer some Altcoin futures contracts.
Additionally, B3 has also adjusted its existing Bitcoin futures contracts, making it cheaper to appeal to domestic retail investors. Meanwhile, these Altcoin offerings caters to international customers.
Brazil's new Altcoin futures contract
The B3 made the headline two months ago when it became the world's first exchange to offer XRP ETFs. This development was made possible thanks to Brazil's regulatory development aimed at becoming a crypto hub.
Today, B3 expanded Brazil's presence in the industry with a new futures contract based on Solana and Ethereum.
“In addition to providing more alternatives to investors with blockchain technology savvy, B3 offers new cryptocurrency derivative equipment to meet the growing demand for cryptographic-related products.
To be clear, Brazil is far from the first country to offer futures contracts based on these altcoins. In the US, the Solana Futures ETF began trading on the CME three months ago.
Still, B3's entry into this market is worth it for several reasons. For one thing, the company plans to offer similar contracts to other popular tokens in the near future if this is successful.
Ethereum and Solana futures contracts are based on the prices of the underlying assets listed on the Nasdaq. Each ETH contract is worth 0.25% of the token, and the future of each Solana represents five SOLs.
Both are priced in US dollars to attract international investors, and the settlement takes place on the last Friday of each month.
B3 has also announced that it will readjust its existing Bitcoin futures contracts so that each share is worth 0.01 BTC instead of 0.1.
By making Bitcoin futures 10 times cheaper, the exchange hopes to attract more retail investors within Brazil. This contrasts with the internationally focused strategy for new Altcoin products.
Of course, the demographics of small crypto investors in Brazil were just high tax rates that are likely to affect B3 futures contracts.
Even if these products do not directly constitute crypto investments, the new tax also applies to indirect financial entanglements. Hopefully this will not present any major obstacles in the future.
