CME Bitcoin Futures Hit $100B in Volume Since 2017, Director McCourt Says

Published at: Jan. 30, 2020

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, has hosted over $100 billion in volume for its Bitcoin futures trading product. 

“CME Bitcoin futures have surpassed $100 billion in total notional value traded since their launch in December 2017,” CME Group Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Index Alternative Investment Products, Tim McCourt, told Cointelegraph.  

Institutions join crypto

During the crypto boom of 2017, mainstream financial entities began moving into the industry. 

In December 2017, at the peak of Bitcoin’s all-time price high, CME launched its cash-settled Bitcoin futures trading product. CME’s market entrance came just one week after the Chicago Board Options Exchange, or CBOE, launched a similar cash-settled Bitcoin futures trading product. 

“Our Bitcoin futures have evolved over the last two years and are now one of the most liquid, listed bitcoin derivatives available globally,” McCourt said. 

In contrast, CBOE discontinued its Bitcoin futures trading product in March 2019, after a lengthy bear market consumed the prior year. 

Progress continues

Despite losing institutional crypto participation from the CBOE, the crypto industry has since gained other mainstream involvement. 

The Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, launched physically-settled Bitcoin futures trading through its Bakkt platform on Sept. 23, 2019. Bakkt also opened Bitcoin options trading on its cash-settled Bitcoin futures in December 2019.  

The market is apparently very interested in CME’s Bitcoin futures, evident in this new massive volume benchmark. “We continue to see strong participation from institutional investors, physical bitcoin traders and other clients who value the transparency, price discovery and risk transfer that only a regulated marketplace like CME Group can offer,” McCourrt said. 

Cointelegraph covered CME’s Bitcoin options trading unveiling earlier in 2019.

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