2020 has taught us the competitive advantage cash settled vs. physically settled futures can give to an exchange. ICE Brent is beating CME WTI, and CME Bitcoin is beating ICE Bitcoin on this premise. Cash settlement helps avoid risks of holding the underlying. More below:
Think of cash settled futures like an ETF - you get exposure to an asset without all the fuss of dealing with the underlying. Some more reading on this topic: https://www.wsj.com/articles/negative-oil-prices-pose-headache-for-futures-giant-cme-11587547802 …