Bitcoin futures surge past $17,000 on launch day.

Johnson Cherian.

The front-month bitcoin futures contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Futures Exchange surged past $17,000 on Monday, the first day of trading.

The January contract opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $17,170 during Asian hours. They were last quoted at $17,120, a more than $1,000 premium to the price on Gemini Exchange.

The futures are cash-settled contracts based on the auction price of bitcoin in U.S. dollars on the Gemini Exchange, which is owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.