What Is the Main Benefit of Cash Settlement for Institutional Investors Focused Purely on Price Exposure?

The main benefit is the elimination of the operational and regulatory burden associated with taking physical custody of the underlying asset. Institutional investors focused purely on price speculation can avoid the complexities of setting up secure cold storage, managing private keys, and navigating the regulatory requirements for holding the physical asset.

Cash settlement provides a cleaner, purely financial instrument for directional bets or hedging.