Spot Market(by Taylor Tompkins) - 趙永祥的數位歷程檔

The spot market is where financial instruments, such as commodities, currencies, and securities, are traded for immediate delivery. Delivery is the exchange of cash for a financial instrument. A futures contract, on the other hand, is based on the delivery of the underlying asset at a future date.

Spot markets are also referred to as “physical markets” or “cash markets” because trades are swapped for the asset effectively immediately. While the official transfer of funds between the buyer and seller may take time, such as T+2 in the stock market and in most currency transactions, both parties agree to the trade “right now.”

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Why Is 'Spot Market' the Term of the Day?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images

Since 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has allowed multiple Bitcoin futures ETFs to be traded on the market, but has denied spot ETF applications for Bitcoin funds. The difference between spot and futures markets, especially with regard to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, were highlighted after digital asset manager Grayscale Investments appealed an SEC ruling that would prohibit it from converting its Bitcoin investment fund, the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), to a spot ETF.

Grayscale Investments and the SEC presented their first oral arguments to the U.S. District Court of Appeals on Tuesday morning, and the asset manager is hoping to get a ruling before the July 6 deadline for the securities regulator to accept or reject its application.

Regulators argued that futures markets are safer for the unregulated crypto market because it has more oversight, while the spot market could expose investors to fraud and manipulation. For its part, Grayscale says that any manipulation of the spot markets would ultimately affect prices for futures contracts.

-Taylor