Cryptocurrency Bitcoin made its debut on a major bourse Sunday, opening at $15,000 per unit at the Chicago board options exchange. 

Around 23:20 GMT, the price of the currency had risen to $15,940 dollars on a futures contract scheduled for settlement on January 17 according to data provided by the Chicago board options exchange (Cboe). 

A futures contract is a financial product that allows investors to bet on whether the currency's price will rise or fall.

It is the first opportunity for professional investors to invest in bitcoin.

Many are wary of embracing bitcoin because it has no central bank backing it and no legal exchange rate.