Offering bitcoin futures was a response to user demand and a reflection of the belief that digital currencies will grow worldwide in the decades to come, said Chris Concannon, president of Cboe Global Markets Inc., one of three venues that announced it will soon start offering the products.

“We are big believers in the cryptocurrency markets,” Concannon said in an interview after the Friday announcement. “I actually believe that national currencies will begin issuing digital currencies. So this first step is a very big step into what I see as a growing market.”

The Cboe started talking to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission several months ago about offering the product in response to client demand, Concannon said. It was a natural step in the development of a market that’s already growing rapidly, and the ability to bet on declines as well as gains may help smooth some of the volatility, he said.