WisdomTree Investments, a New York-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, has filed for an ETF that would invest up to 5% of its portfolio in cash-settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts offered by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The application, which was filed on June 16, asserts that the proposed fund will invest in the futures markets of four commodity sectors spanning agriculture, industrial metals, precious metals and energy. No direct investments will be made in the underlying physical assets. Crypto ETFs have little luck among regulators Despite regulators having thus far rejected applications for Bitcoin ETFs, WisdomTree hopes that its "WisdomTree Enhanced …

A growing number of indicators suggest that institutional players are continuing to enter the digital asset markets, which have been dominated to date by high-net-worth individuals and actively trading crypto enthusiasts. Case in point: Crypto markets are seeing all-time highs in futures contracts’ open interest at entities such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Widely known as one of the world’s largest financial derivatives exchanges, the CME enables sophisticated traders to trade in asset classes such as agricultural products, energy, metals and crypto futures and options. Traders on the CME are generally institutions, not individuals, which is why this open interest …

For those of us involved in the cryptocurrency space, we've gotten used to the fast-paced nature of this rapidly growing industry. New technology quickly becomes old, bright shiny projects lose their luster, and what started out as a few privacy advocates sending “magic internet money” to one another has mushroomed into a whole new asset class with a robust infrastructure established around it. Every new product, application or financial instrument that we add has value and attracts more participants. Options trading is a huge step for the crypto derivatives market — and it’s already proving its worth. How the crypto …

According to the latest data from market analysis company Skew, total open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) options passed $1.5 billion on June 9. This comes barely a month after open interest crossed $1 billion for the first time, marking a 50% increase in just 33 days. 50% rise in a month led by two players Total Bitcoin options open interest hit $1 billion for the first time ever on May 7. Just over a month later, Deribit alone has open interest of $1.1 billion, and the total open interest has broken through $1.5 billion. Deribit’s 20% increase from $903 million …

Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives interest is putting in “fast” growth this quarter — and CME Group is leading the way for options, new data shows. According to monitoring resource Skew, the past weeks have seen CME dramatically increase its share of open interest for Bitcoin options. CME market dominance on the up Open interest refers to the total derivative contract volume, which has not yet been settled. CME had already set all-time highs in early May but has since increased its presence dramatically. As of June 4, open interest stood at $256 million, just $3 million short of all-time highs. By …

CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures and options markets expired on May 29, and despite a $100 hiccup, the price of the largest digital asset on CoinMarketCap held up nicely around the $9,400 level. As the market entered this last trading session, open interest for CME Bitcoin futures expiring in May was rather small at $30 million. This does not mean institutional traders abandoned Bitcoin markets, as open interest for upcoming months remains at a healthy $400 million level. Another essential gauge of institutional investors' appetite, CME Bitcoin options markets, traded $120 million worth of $11,000 and $13,000 call options for the …

CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures and options markets are set to mature this Friday and traders are closely watching to see how spot prices will react to this event. The contracts expire every two months and according to market analysts, they negatively influence BTC’s price in spot markets. In fact, recent data from Cointelegraph and Arcane Research found that there is a 2.3% drop ahead of CME expiry. Although some investors claim manipulation could have been behind the price drops preceding CME contracts expiration, the futures average daily volume has been around $380 million. More importantly, the instrument is cash-settled, meaning …

Bitcoin (BTC) futures platform Bakkt now sees most of its contracts settled in BTC, not cash, the latest data reveals. According to analytics resource Skew, the latest date for which data is available in May produced $34 million for Bakkt’s physically-settled Bitcoin futures. Tide turns against cash settlement Cash-settled Bitcoin futures recorded $9.3 million in volume, while total open interest was $7.6 million. The trend reverses the previous status quo, under which futures settled in fiat saw larger volumes. This was the case throughout March and April, as volatility underscored investors’ desire for cash. May meanwhile also saw a daily …

Chicago Mercantile Exchange's, or CME, global head of equity index and alternative investment products, Tim McCourt, said traders prefer cash-settled Bitcoin trading over products backed by physical Bitcoin (BTC). "So far, clients have expressed a clear preference and priority for a cash-settled product," McCourt told Cointelegraph in an email when asked why the CME chose to go the cash-settled route for its Bitcoin futures trading product back in 2017. The CME launched its BTC futures after its price metrics The CME opened Bitcoin futures trading in 2017, based on the exchange's own CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, or BRR, and Bitcoin …

Mainstream market exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, recently posted record numbers for its Bitcoin (BTC) trading products. May 14 yielded open interest of 10,792 Bitcoin futures trading contracts at CME, totalling 53,960 BTC — an all-time high for the product, according to information a CME representative provided to Cointelegraph. On May 4, CME also tallied 66 large open interest holders, or LOIHs — another record. These LOIH figures in particular indicate added involvement from institutions, the CME representative noted. CME Bitcoin options have performed well since launch CME largely opened the door for mainstream Bitcoin participation in December …

Open interest on Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin options has skyrocketed over the past few days, to hit $142 million as of May 15. According to data from market analytics company, Skew, this represents a gain of over 1000% from just $12 million of open interest at the end of April. Bitcoin halving sees massive interest in options trading CME saw an initial spike in options volume on May 5 and May 6, with both days pushing towards $10 million. However this dropped off to a more usual $1 million on Friday May 8, the last trading day before the Bitcoin …

Having recently gone through the third halving, one of the most important events in the ecosystem, Bitcoin (BTC) continues to establish itself as a new asset class and a worthy contender to gold as a new store of value for the digital age. Having seen a dip in price from the $10,000 levels to $8,500 just a few days before the halving, the Bitcoin price has remained below $10,000 even after the event. Seeing its production cut in half in a matter of seconds, Bitcoin’s scarcity and low stock-to-flow ratio makes it an attractive investment for those looking to shield …