As the price of Bitcoin is sliding, the futures market is turning bullish with an anticipation of a bounce back.
The demand for Bitcoin futures can be seen with the surge in the trading volume of Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures contracts.
According to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) subsidiary, 4,443 Bitcoin futures contracts were traded on Wednesday, setting a new record on the platform.
Two months after their debut, Bakkt Bitcoin Futures reached a record high of 4,443 contracts traded today – up over 60% from our last record-setting day
We look forward to building on this momentum as we approach the launch of the Bakkt Bitcoin Options contracts on Dec 9th — Bakkt (@Bakkt) November 27, 2019
A flop turned hit
Launched in September, Bakkt offers physically-settled Bitcoin futures, meaning traders will receive the digital asset as the deliverable upon maturity of the contract. This reduces the settlement risk that is associated with the cash-settled instruments.
Before its launch, Bakkt became a buzz word in the industry with huge anticipated demand. Many speculated that it would boost the price of the digital asset, similar to the launch of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in December 2017, which pushed the BTC price to a record high.
However, the demand for Bakkt’s offerings remained dim for a while, which encouraged its critics to call it a flop.
Daily summary of Wednesday's Bakkt Bitcoin Monthly Futures:
? Traded contracts: 5671 ($42.52 million, +148%) (New ATH ?) ? All time high: 5671 (11/27/2019) ? Open interest: $4.16 million (+6%) Follow @BakktBot for updates - Sats welcome @ https://t.co/TF6sNUwWpO pic.twitter.com/wrX2qnLnOp — Bakkt Volume Bot (@BakktBot) November 28, 2019
Meanwhile, the United States-based company also tapped the lucrative Asian market with the upcoming launch of a cash-settled Bitcoin futures contract in Singapore. The contract will be listed on ICE Futures Singapore and cleared by ICE Clear Singapore - both of which are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
With a growing demand for crypto derivatives, the company is also set to bring Bitcoin options contracts next month.
