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CME Becomes Biggest Bitcoin Futures Exchange as Institutional Interest Rises
Chicago Mercantile Exchange now tops the list of the biggest bitcoin futures trading platforms, accounting for nearly 20% of all open interest.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:52 a.m. Published Jan 7, 2021, 11:27 a.m.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has taken the prime spot on the list of the biggest bitcoin futures trading platforms, indicating a continued rise in institutional participation.
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- With an open interest of $2.1 billion, the CME accounted for 19.09% of the global tally of $11 billion on Wednesday – the highest among major exchanges tracked by Skew, a crypto derivatives research firm.
- OKEx was the second-biggest exchange with an open interest of $1.97 billion, while Binance, the word's biggest crypto spot exchange by trading volume, ranked third with $1.82 billion.
- Open interest refers to the number of contracts traded but not squared off with an offsetting position.
- Looking back a year, the size of the futures market was quite small. Global open interest stood at $3 billion on Jan. 7, 2020, of which the CME contributed just 7% or $224 million.
- The CME has steadily climbed ranks over the past 12 months and more so over the past three months alongside bitcoin's meteoric price rally from $10,000 to record highs above $37,000.
- The exchange is considered synonymous with institutional trading, as it prefers to trade futures of any product via an established and regulated exchange like the CME.
Also read: Total Cryptocurrency Market Value Hits Record $1 Trillion
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Solana CME Futures Fell Short of BTC and ETH Debuts, but There's a Catch
When adjusted for asset market capitalization SOL's relative futures volume looks better, K33 Research noted.
What to know:
- Solana's SOL futures began trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Monday, with a notional daily volume of $12.3 million and $7.8 million in open interest, significantly lower than the debuts of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures.
- Despite the seemingly lackluster debut, when adjusted to market value, SOL's first-day figures are more in line with BTC's and ETH's, according to K33 Research.
- Despite the bearish market conditions, the launch of CME SOL futures offers new ways for institutions to manage their exposure to the token, said Joshua Lim of FalconX.
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