Bitcoin Cash (BCH) surged roughly 35% in the past 24 hours to reach over $340 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, emerging as one of the crypto market’s biggest gainers after CME Group announced plans to launch regulated BCH futures.
Several catalysts appear to be driving the rally.
CME Bitcoin Cash Futures Trigger BCH Rally
The biggest catalyst came from CME Group, which announced on Sept. 22 that it plans to launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap (UNI) futures on Oct. 19, pending regulatory review.
CME will offer two BCH products: a standard contract representing 250 BCH and a Micro Bitcoin Cash futures contract representing 25 BCH.
The exchange said the expansion was prompted by demand for institutional-grade risk-management products covering liquid altcoin markets.
The announcement potentially gives hedge funds, trading firms, asset managers and other professional investors another regulated avenue for gaining BCH exposure or hedging existing positions without directly holding the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Cash reacted almost immediately. BCH reportedly gained around 14% within an hour of the announcement, before extending its rally toward the $350 area.
CME has already built a sizable cryptocurrency derivatives business. Its crypto futures and options averaged about 279,800 contracts per day, representing roughly $8.3 billion in notional daily volume, during the first half of 2026.
Grayscale BCH ETF Narrative Adds Fuel
The CME announcement comes less than two weeks after Grayscale Investments advanced plans to turn its existing Bitcoin Cash Trust into an exchange-traded product.
Grayscale filed an amended registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 11, saying it intends to rename the product the Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust ETF once the necessary conditions are met.
The proposed fund would trade on NYSE Arca under the BCHG ticker and would hold BCH as its underlying asset.
BCH Short Squeeze Accelerates the Rally
Bitcoin Cash’s rally also triggered a sharp derivatives squeeze, adding more momentum to the move.
Over the past 24 hours, roughly $6.67 million worth of BCH positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. Short traders absorbed most of the damage, with about $4.90 million in short positions wiped out, compared with roughly $1.77 million in long liquidations.
That means nearly three-quarters of the liquidations came from traders betting against BCH.
The imbalance became even more pronounced over shorter timeframes. In the latest four-hour period, BCH recorded about $2.06 million in total liquidations, including roughly $1.58 million in shorts.
As BCH pushed through key resistance levels, bearish traders were forced to close leveraged positions by buying the token back, creating a classic short squeeze. That forced buying likely helped accelerate the rally after the initial CME futures catalyst.
BCH Price Eyes Another 20% Pump
Bitcoin Cash’s latest breakout could extend toward $450, where the token’s next major Fibonacci resistance sits.
On the two-week chart, BCH has rebounded sharply from its long-term $175-$200 accumulation zone, an area that has repeatedly attracted buyers since 2020.
The recovery has pushed the token back above its 20-period exponential moving average (20-period EMA, green) near $340, strengthening the case for a broader trend reversal.
BCH is now approaching another important hurdle around the 50-period EMA (red) near $388. A decisive move above this level could clear the way toward the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement level at roughly $449.90, making the $450 region the next logical upside target.
Conversely, a rejection from this resistance zone followed by a drop back below the 20-period EMA near $340 could delay the $450 target and expose BCH to another consolidation phase.
