As Bitcoin is entering a bull market, the demand for Bitcoin futures instruments is skyrocketing. Last month, CME Group recorded that more than 2,960 accounts were trading its Bitcoin futures, according to a Coindesk report.
The derivatives platform on-boarded over 950 new clients since the beginning of this year - a 30 percent increase in total client sign-ups.
The July 3 report also detailed that the total number of open interest holders increased to 49. In the last week of June, on average, 46 clients held open interest.
Open interest holders are accounts holding futures contracts worth at least 25 Bitcoins, valued around $280,000.
A company spokesperson told the publication: “[CME Group] is creating a forward curve for the crypto markets so that investors can better manage price.”
By the time of introduction of first Bitcoin futures in December 2017, the digital coin hit its peak at around $20,000. However, it could not hold the value, and in the next year, came down to touch below $3,400. With some steady movement for a few months, the coin again gained its upward pace and is currently trading at $11,667, as per Coinmarketcap.com.
However, compared to the spot market, the demand for crypto derivatives remained high even in the bear market. And with the revival of the market, the demand for such investment instruments skyrocketed.
Growing demand for Bitcoin futures
By the end of June, CME reported that it saw a record $1.7 billion in notional value in Bitcoin futures on June 26.
CME Bitcoin futures reached a record $1.7B in notional value traded on June 26, surpassing the previous record by more than 30%. The surge in volume also set a new open interest record of 6,069 contracts as institutional interest continues to build. $BTC https://t.co/WqXSPX0raR pic.twitter.com/HjGKb9a0ah
— CMEGroup (@CMEGroup) June 28, 2019
However, for CME Groups' direct competition CBOE, the market is a bit different as the demand for its products went down drastically since its launch and the company is now considering to stop offering further futures contracts.
Meanwhile, many major players in the crypto market are jumping in the futures trading. Most recently, Binance announced that it developed a crypto futures trading platform which is expected to hit the market within a few weeks.
In the United Kingdom, however, the crypto futures contracts have become a matter of concern for the market regulator, which is planning to ban their retail sale.
