Scott Olson/Getty Images Bitcoin futures went live on the Cboe Options Exchange on Sunday. A futures contract represents an agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a given point in time in the future. Volumes, net longs versus shorts, and the shape of the futures curve are three things to look out for in the coming weeks. Bitcoin has spent the past eight years on the sidelines of international finance. It’s been mocked and ridiculed by some of the biggest financial minds out there. And now, bitcoin is going mainstream as bitcoin futures contracts on some of the largest U.S.