Bitcoin (BTC) futures daily volumes on digital asset platform Bakkt have hit a new all-time high, with 1,741 futures traded on Nov. 9. Bakkt announced the new record, stating: “Today we set a new daily record of 1,756 Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts traded.” Volume spike coincides with Bitcoin price dip Twitter account dedicated to Bakkt futures trading volume data, Bakkt Volume Bot, also pointed out the development on Nov. 8. Additionally, the daily volume of 1,741 (about $15.5 million) represents a 109% increase over the 834 contracts traded the day before with each contract being equivalent to one Bitcoin. Bakkt …

Hong Kong-based Bitcoin (BTC) spot and derivatives exchange Atom Group has launched amid a tightening of the region’s crypto-regulatory regime. As the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Nov. 7, the Atom Asset Exchange (AAX) uses the Millenium Exchange matching engine developed by the London Stock Exchange and promises prospective clients lower trade latency and trade data transparency. SFC brings security tokens and crypto futures under its remit AAX’s launch comes just one day after Hong Kong’s securities regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), released new guidance for domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. The watchdog has indicated that cryptocurrency trading …

Trading crypto assets, or any market for that matter, is a zero-sum game. When one person wins, someone else must lose, making trading highly competitive. That being said, consistently profitable strategies can be hard to find. Recently, PlanB, a crypto investor and analyst active on Twitter, described a Bitcoin (BTC) trading strategy that yields a stated 7-10% profit annually with limited downside risk. PlanB tweeted, “Bitcoin cash and carry (spot buying BTC and simultaneously future selling for delivery in 1-6 months) will net you 7-10% annualized return .. almost risk free.” PlanB’s strategy can be viewed as a form of …

Bitcoin (BTC) trading is coming under the spotlight this week after another flash crash sparked concerns that traders are manipulating markets. As various social media users noted, including statistician Willy Woo on Nov. 5, unusual occurrences on exchanges give reason to be critical of Bitcoin price movements. Woo: I’m “highly suspicious” of BTC/USD As Cointelegraph reported, last week saw sudden erratic behavior at two exchanges — Deribit and Coinbase Pro — which appeared to influence BTC/USD. On Tuesday, it was CME Group’s Bitcoin futures which continued the trend. In early trading, BTC/USD futures suddenly tanked to below $8,500 before rebounding …

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX has received a $150 million lawsuit for market manipulation and selling unlicensed securities in the United States. Uploaded to social media by End of the Chain podcast host Samuel McCulloch on Nov. 3, sections of the lawsuit document show FTX accused of “attacking” fellow exchange Binance. Lawsuit: FTX had “manipulative and deceptive scheme” The plaintiff, a mysterious entity known as Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC, is demanding $150 million in exemplary and punitive damages. According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, FTX used accounts to manipulate Binance’s recently-launched Bitcoin futures in mid-September. The document reads: “Defendants, and each of …

Cryptocurrency futures and options exchange Deribit says it will use its own money to refund users affected by an exchange rate miscalculation. In a tweet on Nov. 1, Deribit recognized its role in the error, which occurred on Thursday and resulted in Bitcoin (BTC) trading at around $7,700. Deribit: crash caused by “outlier” value This, in turn, caused traders to be paid a lower price for BTC/USD sells, with Deribit calculating the losses at $1.3 million. Deribit Bitcoin futures chart. Source: TradingView, Twitter “Deribit will reimburse over $1.3 million in losses from the BTC index calculation data issue around 21:00:00 …

Crypto futures trading volume now reportedly amounts to nearly 50% of the value of spot trading on crypto markets, according to Bloomberg. 13 exchanges analyzed Citing volume data from 13 major global crypto exchanges, Bloomberg reported on a massive growth of cryptocurrency futures markets Oct. 31. The analyzed exchanges include institutional digital asset platform Bakkt, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME), Binance, Bitfinex, the Huobi Derivative Market (DM), Kraken, FTX, Bitz, Deribit, CoinFlex, Bybit, OKEx and BitMEX. First ever Bitcoin futures launched in late 2017 Spot trading is simply buying or selling a commodity or, in this case, a crypto …

Institutional Bitcoin (BTC) trading platform Bakkt is on course to treble its all-time high for trade volume after hitting new records last week. Bakkt Frontruns China Hype According to data from Twitter-based monitoring resource Bakkt Volume Bot on Oct. 26, Bakkt traded 1,183 Bitcoin futures contracts, or 1,183 BTC ($11 million) on Friday. Compared to just 331 contracts ($3.1 million) on Thursday, the increase in just 24 hours was 257%, dwarfing previous jumps, which themselves had resulted in all-time highs earlier in October. Bakkt Bitcoin futures trading volumes. Source: Bakkt Volume Bot At press time Monday, daily trading amounted to …

One class of investors has more than doubled the value of the long positions it holds in Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts this month. Institutions settle in for the long term According to fresh data from analyst Skew Markets on Oct. 22, the value of institutional investors’ long positions went from below 500 BTC ($4.11 million) on Oct. 1 to over 1,000 BTC ($8.23 million) on Oct. 16. The gains reverse a decline in institutional longs from September. The launch of Bitcoin futures from Bakkt coincided with open interest falling from around 1,300 BTC. “For reference, institutions include pension funds, endowments, …

Binance’s futures platform is increasing maximum leverage and margin on Bitcoin (BTC)/Tether (USDT) contracts to 125x, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 18. Support for the contracts went live at 9:00 am UTC, with traders able to select 1x-125x leverage, with large positions adjusting to lower leverage allowed. As the press release notes: “At 125x leverage, a 100 USDT collateral deposit on Binance Futures will allow users to hold 12,500 USDT in BTC.” Balancing risk with efficiency According to BInance, highly leveraged trading is being introduced using a “sophisticated risk engine and liquidation model,” a fast …

Binance’s Bitcoin futures product is the only winner in a lackluster market this week as trading volume hits local lows. Research highlights “very low” activity Analysis of various platforms’ trading volumes by exchange eToro’s senior market strategist Mati Greenspan on Oct. 15 revealed cryptocurrency markets had all but bottomed out in terms of activity. From a peak of around $4 billion per day several months ago, Bitcoin (BTC) now sees less than $200 million change hands, he said referencing data from research outlet Messari. Other players told a similar story, including derivatives giant BitMEX and P2P exchange Localbitcoins. Futures providers …

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group recently tweeted that, despite the Bitcoin (BTC) price pullback, customer interest in CME Bitcoin futures remained strong during Q3 2019. CME Bitcoin futures are up 61% vs Q3 2018 On Oct. 9, the CME Group took to Twitter to state that customer interest in CME Bitcoin futures remained strong during Q3 2019, with daily open interest (OI) of over 4,600 contracts, up 61% vs Q3 2018, because of the strong interest of institutional investors. Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled, which rose to 4,629 …