Bitcoin Cash Gains 33% as NEAR Outpaces Bitcoin in Weekly Rally

Bitcoin Cash and NEAR Protocol outperformed Bitcoin during the week ending Sept. 26, with the moves coinciding with planned BCH futures and an ETF registration that became effective without confirming a trading launch.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rose about 33% from $252.67 on Sept. 20 to $335.96 on Sept. 26. BCH reached a daily close of $343.15 on Sept. 25 before pulling back the following day.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) gained about 21%, rising from $4.16 to $5.04 over the same period. Bitcoin (BTC) advanced about 4%, from $81,169 to $84,417.

The figures use UTC daily closes.

CME Group plans to launch standard and Micro Bitcoin Cash futures on Oct. 19, pending regulatory review. The contracts would cover 250 BCH and 25 BCH, respectively.

“As crypto markets continue to mature, participants require broader, regulated tools to navigate evolving digital asset related price risk,” Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s global head of cryptocurrency products, said.

The planned BCH futures are part of CME’s announced BCH and UNI futures expansion. The contracts remain planned products and have not yet launched.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing record for the Bitwise NEAR ETF shows that its registration became effective Sept. 24. The filing was accepted at 00:15:04 UTC on Sept. 25, or 8:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 24.

The record does not establish that shares began trading or provide a launch date. The registration therefore adds a regulatory development for NEAR without confirming a live ETF product.

BCH’s planned derivatives expansion and the effective NEAR ETF registration came as both assets posted larger weekly gains than Bitcoin. CME’s planned contracts are scheduled for Oct. 19, subject to regulatory review.