The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has ascended to the second-largest position in the Bitcoin futures market, with a notional open interest of $3.54 billion, according to data from Coinglass. This marks a significant climb from its fourth-place standing just weeks prior. The term “notional open interest” refers to the U.S. dollar value of active or open contracts in the market.
Binance, an offshore unregulated exchange, retains the top spot with an open interest of $3.83 billion, which is 8% higher than that of CME. The latter recently saw its open interest in cash-settled futures contracts surpass 100,000 BTC for the first time. CME’s market share in Bitcoin futures also reached an all-time high of 25%.
André Dragosch, the head of research at Deutsche Digital Assets, provided an alternative viewpoint on the ascent of CME in the Bitcoin futures market. According to Dragosch, while CME’s share in Bitcoin futures open interest may have risen compared to other exchanges, the “aggregate amount of BTC futures & perps OI” has remained stable when measured in Bitcoin terms. Dragosch made this statement to clarify that long futures positions were not the primary driver behind the recent surge in Bitcoin prices.
Previously, CME Group, the entity operating the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, announced that a record average of 15,800 contracts for Bitcoin futures was traded in the third quarter of 2023, an 11% increase quarter-over-quarter. Open interest in Ether futures and options also jumped 22% from the previous quarter. Despite major price declines in Bitcoin and Ether during the third quarter, CME Group noted that the derivatives market remained active.
The rise in CME’s ranking coincides with a 27% increase in Bitcoin prices this month, fueled by macroeconomic uncertainty and optimism around spot ETFs. Retail investors have also contributed to the market dynamics, as evidenced by a 420% increase in the rolling five-day volume of ProShares’ Bitcoin futures ETF to $340 million last week.
