Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rallied 4.5% in 24 hours to $287.70 on Friday, October 23, 2026, after CME Group confirmed that crypto prime broker FalconX and liquidity provider GSR executed the first block trade in its newly launched Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures. The debut pushes CME's single-asset crypto futures lineup to 11 tokens and refocuses attention on BCH's technical price picture ahead of the Federal Reserve's October 27-28 meeting.
CME began listing BCH futures on October 19, with the first trade confirmed on October 20. Traders can use a standard contract covering 250 BCH (ticker BCA) or a Micro contract covering 25 BCH (MCH), both cash-settled against the CME CF reference rate. At Friday's price, one standard contract had a notional value of roughly $72,000. CME Group's Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products Giovanni Vicioso said the launch provides 'more versatility to manage cryptocurrency risk and exposure through our robust 24/7 marketplace.' FalconX's Griffin Sears noted institutional demand is moving beyond the largest digital assets toward tokens with distinct use cases, citing BCH in payments and Uniswap in decentralized finance.
The market has already shown sensitivity to the CME news. After CME announced the contracts on September 22, BCH rose from the $260s to above $360, a roughly 35% surge, before fading. Santiment data showed open interest nearly doubled to about $295 million, then slipped back to roughly 560,000 BCH by October 18. This week’s bounce appears healthier: Binance futures open interest rose 5.97% in 24 hours to around $81 million notional, with neutral funding at 0.0088% per eight hours, suggesting new positions rather than short covering.
Technically, BCH reclaimed its 20-day and 50-day simple moving averages at $284.53 and $278.97, but the 200-day SMA near $290.94 is immediate resistance. A push through $291 and the $300–$310 zone could open a path toward $330 and September highs around $358–$360. Support sits at $277–$279 and $264–$272. Additional tailwinds include Grayscale's September 11 filing to convert its Bitcoin Cash Trust into the Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust ETF on NYSE Arca, and Mt. Gox's decision to push its creditor repayment deadline to October 31, 2027, removing roughly 143,000 BCH of near-term selling risk.
In the broader market, Bitcoin traded near $81,700 after CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said retail traders have left Bitcoin futures, the opposite of conditions seen at the 2025 top. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $1.07 billion from Monday to Wednesday, enough to turn October flows positive, with BlackRock's IBIT leading. Bitcoin remains inside a range from roughly $79,800 to $84,300, with $79,800 as key support and a daily close below opening the 200-day EMA near $76,200. Ethereum funds continued to bleed, with about $1 billion in outflows over the period.
