New York — Bitcoin is going legit, for better or worse. The digital currency that JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon called a fraud is set to step into the mainstream of finance now that CME Group has announced it will introduce trading in bitcoin futures by the end of the year. The move by the world’s largest exchange owner will up the game for the software-created asset and finally bring it some regulatory cover. Just a month ago, a top CME Group executive said he did not foresee listing bitcoin futures any time soon. CEO Terrence Duffy cited pent-up client demand as a key reason for the reversal. Bitcoin climbed to a record high after the news went out Tuesday — and is up more than 550% this year. "A fully regulated derivatives market is opening the floodgates of institutional demand," said Spencer Bogart, head of research at Blockchain Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. And for Wall Street, bitcoin is attractive. "It’s volatile, it trades 24/7 and the markets are ine...
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