Nomura begins offering Bitcoin OTC derivatives to clients in Asia

Japanese investment bank Nomura said on Twitter Friday that it has begun offering over-the-counter Bitcoin derivatives contracts to its clients in Asia out of Singapore.

“We have launched #Bitcoin OTC #derivatives with Bitcoin non-deliverable forwards and non-deliverable options for clients in #Asia out of Singapore. We also executed our first Bitcoin #futures and #options trades this week on @CMEGroup with @CumberlandSays,” Nomura said in the post.

CME Group is the world’s biggest financial derivatives exchange, while Cumberland DRW is a specialized cryptoasset trading company.

“Options enable investors to trade volatility directly and protect against downside risks in the crypto market,” said Rig Karkhanis, Nomura’s head of global markets for Asia ex-Japan, in a statement attached to the tweet.

Tim Albers, Nomura’s head of forex structuring in Asia ex-Japan, told Bloomberg in an interview: “There has been significant volatility recently. … Once the dust settles, valuations will become more attractive for institutional clients. We’re pretty excited to get this off the ground.”