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The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the largest U.S. options exchange, is planning to launch its own bitcoin derivatives trading products by early next year.

Pending review from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) plans to offer cash-settled bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of this year or sometime in early 2018, according to a Tuesday announcement.

The CFTC told CNBC in a statement that, "to date, the Commission has not received a filing for a bitcoin futures contract from the CFE."

Designated contract markets like CFE do not necessarily need prior approval from the CFTC in order to list a product for trading, according to the commission's website. Rather, those designated markets can list trading products by filing a self-certification with the commission one business day before the initial listing.

"We've really come to the conclusion recently that cryptocurrencies are here to stay," John Deters, chief strategy officer of CBOE parent CBOE Holdings, told CNBC in a phone interview.

Deters said the bitcoin futures, once reviewed, will be available to both institutional and retail investors.

The news was part of a bigger announcement Tuesday that CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ: CBOE) and Gemini Trust, the digital currency exchange founded by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have entered a multiyear exclusive global licensing agreement allowing CBOE and its affiliates to use Gemini's market data in creating bitcoin derivatives and indexes.

The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the agreement Tuesday.

"We very much look forward to responding to the growing interest in cryptocurrencies through the creation of bitcoin futures traded on a regulated derivatives exchange," C