Mubasher: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) debuted its bitcoin futures contracts, CNBC reported.

The first trade in the new futures was undertaken on ICEs futures exchange at 8:02 pm ET (12:02 am GMT) at a prive of $10,115, according to a tweet the ICE-backed venture Bakkt.

It is worth pointing out that Bakkt aims to make trading and paying with cryptocurrencies viable for retail and institutional investors as well.

The futures are physically deliverable, which means that hey pay out in bitcoin upon settlement. ICE said on its website that investors can trade in daily or monthly futures.

Futures contracts are legal agreements to buy or sell a commodity at a certain price and time. They are considered a way for investors to wager on whether the underlying value of an asset will rise or fall.

The news raised hopes among cryptocurrency fans, who hoped that the bitcoin futures can offer some legitimacy to the controversial assets.

Bitcoin is widely known as an extremely volatile asset, with the latest 2017 bubble in which its prices approached $20,000 in the following year.