Bitcoin a new asset class not a crypto
Leo Melamed
TOKYO (Reuters) - Bitcoin is likely to become a new asset class in its own right  such as gold or stocks  which can be traded by major investors and regulated  not simply a crypto-currency   Leo Melamed   Chairman Emeritus of CME Group (CME.O)  said on Tuesday.
FILE  PHOTO - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) group's Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed  speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo June 30  2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
CME   the worldâs largest derivatives exchange   last week announced that  it  would launch the futures contract of bitcoin  marking a major step in the digital currencyâs path toward mainstream acceptance.
 Melamed  said  he  expects major investors to take part in bitcoin futures  which  the exchange  plans to start by the end of year.
âThatâs a very important step for bitcoinâs history... We will regulate  make bitcoin not wild  nor wilder. Weâll tame it into a regular type instrument of trade with rules â  Melamed  told Reuters in an interview.
The futures will allow investors to short-sell bitcoins  making two-way bets possible  a development that  he  expects will attract major institutional investors  not just speculators.
 Melamed  was elected chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1969.  He  moved to Chicago in  his  youth  having fled Nazi-occupied Poland with  his  family.
Melamedâs parents were among a small number of Jews to flee to Lithuania after Germany invaded their native town of Bialystok in Poland   he  said.
There   his  family obtained visas to Japan  thanks to a diplomat  Chiune Sugihara  who helped resettle thousands of refugees despite Tokyoâs policies at the time.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Bitcoin is likely to become a new asset class in its own right  such as gold or stocks  which can be traded by major investors and regulated   [TGT] said on Tuesday.
FILE  PHOTO - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) group's Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed  speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo June 30  2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
CME   the worldâs largest derivatives exchange   last week announced that  [TGT]  [TGT]   would launch the futures contract of bitcoin  marking a major step in the digital currencyâs path toward mainstream acceptance.
  [TGT] said   [TGT]   expects major investors to take part in bitcoin futures  which  the exchange  plans to start by the end of year.
âThatâs a very important step for bitcoinâs history... We will regulate  make bitcoin not wild  nor wilder. Weâll tame it into a regular type instrument of trade with rules â   [TGT] told Reuters in an interview.
The futures will allow investors to short-sell bitcoins  making two-way bets possible  a development that   [TGT]   expects will attract major institutional investors  not just speculators.
  [TGT] was elected chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1969.   [TGT]   moved to Chicago in   [TGT]   youth  having fled Nazi-occupied Poland with  his  family.
Melamedâs parents were among a small number of Jews to flee to Lithuania after Germany invaded their native town of Bialystok in Poland   he  said.
There   his  family obtained visas to Japan  thanks to a diplomat  Chiune Sugihara  who helped resettle thousands of refugees despite Tokyoâs policies at the time.