CME Bitcoin Futures: Record Volumes, Crucial Signal For Rising Institutional Demand
This week saw the greatest ever volume for Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as volume exceeded 18,000. The huge signal is that institutional financiers are focusing as futures agreements get purchased at an ever-increasing rate.
Record BTC Contract Volumes on CME
According to stats from the CME there were 18,338 on Wednesday, the highest figure ever taped. This is comparable to 91,690 Bitcoins or roughly $365 million at today’s rates.
Futures contracts enable speculators to bet on the prices rather than purchasing the physical assets themselves so these figures might be a little misleading. What they do show however is that there is a lot more interest in crypto futures now than ever before.
Source: CME
When brand-new products that offer physically settled contracts struck the marketplace, they will be paying out in BTC which will drive huge momentum for crypto markets. Over the previous year or so, the anticipation of a crypto exchange traded fund (ETF) being introduced has dominated the news. 2018 has actually been the year of regulation and cooling down which was only to be expected after the previous year of rampant FOMO and parabolic market action.
This year will be different and many market professionals anticipate the launch of at least one institutional financial investment automobile. Bakkt is the main prospect however it has been in a holding pattern with a few others while United States regulators finally awaken from their month-long imposed trip.
According to The Block European exchange giant, Eurex, is gearing up to release crypto futures so the list of institutional offerings is growing rapidly. The derivatives exchange run by Germany’s Deutsche Börse will be offering Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP imminently according to the report.
Exchange Traded Funds are The Future
In addition to these future items, there is already one kind of ETF that is in fact traded through an ETN (exchange-traded note) which enables investors to get direct exposure to Bitcoin costs. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) bypasses the technicalities of purchasing and storing Bitcoin but still enables investors to participate the action by purchasing shares that trade at around a thousandth of the cost of BTC, so a couple of dollars rather of thousands.
GBTC has actually been extremely popular with over $800 million already invested in the Bitcoin fund:
2/21/19 UPDATE: Holdings per share and net assets under management for our investment products
Total AUM: $872.1 million$BTC $BCH $ETH $ETC $ZEN $LTC $XLM $XRP $ZEC
— Grayscale (@GrayscaleInvest) February 21, 2019
In addition to BTC are 8 other crypto assets however clearly, Bitcoin is the most popular. The fund gets rid of the volatility of buying and owning Bitcoin straight which is something that organizations want, sluggish and constant wins the race. The outlook for 2019 is currently taking shape and the organizations are currently included. Buckle up and prepare yourself for one heck of a ride!
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