Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) derivatives contracts supplied by CME Group noticed record activity within the second quarter, providing tangible proof that skilled merchants have been nonetheless accessing digital belongings during the bear market.
The common every day open curiosity (OI) throughout CME’s crypto futures merchandise reached 106,200 contracts within the second quarter, the very best on record, the corporate disclosed Thursday. In futures markets, OI displays the entire variety of derivatives contracts that haven’t been settled.
In phrases of common every day quantity, Bitcoin futures noticed 10,700 contracts traded within the second quarter; Ether’s every day quantity was 6,100 contracts.
During the week of June 21, massive open curiosity holders (LOIH) accessing CME Group’s crypto merchandise reached a excessive of 404, signaling “growing interest from institutional and large sophisticated investors,” the corporate stated.
Recession or no recession? Bitcoin merchants diverge from the Fed as BTC positive factors. https://t.co/AeLWgl5zbj
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 28, 2022
Despite excessive market volatility for Bitcoin and Ether, CME Group’s crypto futures merchandise have been “a haven of consistent liquidity with continued volume and open interest growth for investors,” Tim McCourt, CME’s world head of fairness and FX merchandise, stated, including:
“The variety of products, including the smaller sized micro bitcoin and micro ether futures and options, offers enhanced flexibility and trading precision for a range of market participants, including large institutions as well as sophisticated, active traders.”
In 2017, CME Group turned the second derivatives market to supply Bitcoin futures contracts, trailing its cross-town rival CBOE Global Markets by one week. By the top of 2020, CME’s cumulative Bitcoin futures quantity reached $100 billion.
Related: ‘Bullish rate hike’ — Why crypto spiked right now within the face of dangerous information
The derivatives alternate has since gone on to launch a number of crypto derivatives merchandise, together with micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether choices. These contracts are 10% the dimensions of their respective crypto belongings, giving merchants extra alternatives to hedge their publicity.
On Thursday, CME revealed that its Micro BTC product noticed a median every day quantity of 17,400 contracts within the second quarter. Daily quantity for its ETH-equivalent micro contract was 21,300.
