BTC Price Surge Drags Futures Market, CME’s Trade Volume Hits Record High

Tuesday, 09/04/2019 | 08:36 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • Over 22,500 contracts were traded on April 4, setting a new record for the number of contracts per day
BTC Price Surge Drags Futures Market, CME’s Trade Volume Hits Record High
FM

US-based derivative platform CME Group has announced that Bitcoin futures contract trading volumes of its Exchange have reached a record high given the recent rush in the cryptocurrency market.

As revealed by CME Group on Twitter, the exchange recorded trading volumes of over 22,500 contracts on April 4, which is equivalent to 112,700 Bitcoins. The notional value of the traded contracts is $546 million.

Previously, the record was set at over 18,300 contracts per day, equalling around 64,300 BTC, which was achieved on February 19.

According to Bloomberg, the majority of futures trading was done in Asian trading hours - 12,634 contracts being the exact figure.

Since April 1, Bitcoin has maintained a bull run in the market by surging more than 26 percent. After dipping below $3,200 last December, one Bitcoin is now trading at around $5,200, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

CME Group was the second in line to introduce Bitcoin futures on December 17, 2017, only a week after the introduction of a similar instrument by its market rival, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Since then, the company has dominated the market and dwarfed the volume of CBOE’s BTC futures.

A Slowdown in the Market

Earlier this year, Finance Magnates reported that Bitcoin futures volumes were declining drastically and in last December, the combined market saw the lowest volume since its launch a year ago.

This also forced the CBOE to rethink its business, as last month, the exchange suspended the addition of new BTC futures instruments in the market.

Despite the slowdown, the market is booming again, and many major players are trying to jump into the market. Coinflex, earlier this year, launched a physically delivered cryptocurrency exchange for its clients based in Asian markets.

Intercontinental Exchange’s plan to launch BTC futures, however, was recently scrapped by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Though the reason was not publicized, media reports claim that the US regulator is demanding more public disclosure for the platform’s custodial plans.

US-based derivative platform CME Group has announced that Bitcoin futures contract trading volumes of its Exchange have reached a record high given the recent rush in the cryptocurrency market.

As revealed by CME Group on Twitter, the exchange recorded trading volumes of over 22,500 contracts on April 4, which is equivalent to 112,700 Bitcoins. The notional value of the traded contracts is $546 million.

Previously, the record was set at over 18,300 contracts per day, equalling around 64,300 BTC, which was achieved on February 19.

According to Bloomberg, the majority of futures trading was done in Asian trading hours - 12,634 contracts being the exact figure.

Since April 1, Bitcoin has maintained a bull run in the market by surging more than 26 percent. After dipping below $3,200 last December, one Bitcoin is now trading at around $5,200, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

CME Group was the second in line to introduce Bitcoin futures on December 17, 2017, only a week after the introduction of a similar instrument by its market rival, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Since then, the company has dominated the market and dwarfed the volume of CBOE’s BTC futures.

A Slowdown in the Market

Earlier this year, Finance Magnates reported that Bitcoin futures volumes were declining drastically and in last December, the combined market saw the lowest volume since its launch a year ago.

This also forced the CBOE to rethink its business, as last month, the exchange suspended the addition of new BTC futures instruments in the market.

Despite the slowdown, the market is booming again, and many major players are trying to jump into the market. Coinflex, earlier this year, launched a physically delivered cryptocurrency exchange for its clients based in Asian markets.

Intercontinental Exchange’s plan to launch BTC futures, however, was recently scrapped by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Though the reason was not publicized, media reports claim that the US regulator is demanding more public disclosure for the platform’s custodial plans.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
  • 6528 Articles
  • 87 Followers
About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.
  • 6528 Articles
  • 87 Followers

More from the Author

CryptoCurrency

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}