In a significant development, Bitcoin futures contracts’ open interest has reached an all-time high since June 2022, soaring to $15.83 billion, as reported by prominent Chinese journalist Colin Wu. Since the beginning of October, there’s been an impressive 33.5% jump in this metric. Coupled with this, Bitcoin options holdings are currently robust at about $15 billion, peaking historically at $17.73 billion on October 27.
Represented by a yellow line in Coinglass’ chart, the BTC price, currently at 34,11K, exhibits many fluctuations, including marked peaks and troughs. Despite this volatility, a notable rise towards the end implies a rejuvenating investor trust.
Shadowing the BTC price spike, open interest, depicted by the blue line, takes a similar uphill journey. This reflects the cumulative number of unsettled derivative contracts, such as futures and options.
The chart also touches upon trading volumes, represented by green bars, which vary significantly throughout the period. These variations serve as key indicators of market sentiment and the potential future direction of prices.
In a related report, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is exhibiting remarkable growth, gearing up to challenge Binance’s hegemony in the Bitcoin futures sector. As per Coinglass data, the notional open interest for CME stands at $3.54 billion, positioning it just 8% shy of the offshore behemoth, Binance.
Significantly, CME’s cash-settled futures recently surpassed the notable 100,000 BTC mark. With its current 25% share in the BTC futures market, CME’s influence is undeniably expanding.
Highlighting the contract sizes, CME’s standard bitcoin futures represent 5 BTC, while its micro contract is scaled at one-tenth of a BTC. Even though offshore exchanges demonstrate a penchant for perpetual futures, CME is carving a niche with its conventional contracts.
Experts speculate CME’s growth is fueled by institutional interest. Bitcoin’s 27% price appreciation this month, amidst broader economic volatility and spot ETF enthusiasm, lends weight to this theory. Furthermore, the retail segment’s influence is evident in the 420% volume surge in ProShares’ premier bitcoin futures ETF, majorly invested in CME bitcoin futures.
