The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has announced that its planned bitcoin futures product will begin trading on Dec. 10.

In a statement published today, the firm said that trading would commence at 5 p.m. CT, with the first full day of trading starting that Monday. Trading on the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) under the "XBT" ticker, the company added in its release that trading of the futures product would be free through the end of December.

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The announcement is a notable one given that a bitcoin future being launched by CME Group will go live the following week on Dec 18.

Ed Tilly, CBOE's chairman and CEO, said in a statement:

"Given the unprecedented interest in bitcoin, it's vital we provide clients the trading tools to help them express their views and hedge their exposure. We are committed to encouraging fairness and liquidity in the bitcoin market. To promote this, we will initially offer XBT futures trading for free."

The launch confirmation comes months after the Chicago-based exchange first detailed its plans to create a bitcoin futures product. At the time in August, the CBOE was working with New York-based bitcoin exchange Gemini, which is run by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, ahead of the launch.

The move also comes amid a time of climbing prices of bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at roughly $11,400, as per CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).

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Disclosure: CME Group has an ownership stake in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company.

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