A futures contract on a real exchange like the Merc is a big step forward for exchange members like tier one banks, and smaller trading shops that have access to futures via brokerage relationships. The article also mentions ETFs, which will give retail investors BTC exposure.
ETFs are the reason this is a big thing. The CME contract enables ETFs with viable size and for both long and short BTC (otherwise they would only really be possible as long ETFs, although the ETF could be shorted itself, and long ETFs would have to own the underlying BTC). In turn, that gives retail speculators (it feels difficult to call them investors for BTC...) access to BTC, which is a significant pool of money.
