Pre-halving speculation has driven historic volumes of crypto trade, with April 30 producing the second-strongest single day for volume on record according to a report published by market data aggregator, CryptoCompare. Notional volume for BTC options on Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, also tagged a new record in recent days, with 202 contracts changing hands on May 5. April 30 posts historic volume $66.2 billion worth of crypto assets changed hands on April 30 as Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $9,000 — comprising the second-largest daily volume behind the $75.9 billion in crypto assets traded during the historic March 13 crash. …

Bitcoin (BTC) institutional investors are banking on a bull run as the latest data shows new records for the top cryptocurrency’s futures markets. As noted by institution-focused crypto analysis company Arcane Research on May 7, open interest for CME Group’s Bitcoin futures has hit a fresh all-time high. CME: open interest at all-time high but volume fades According to the figures, collected from monitoring resource Skew, CME open interest has hit $399 million, beating the previous record of $392 million from June 2019. The growth rate in open interest has been particularly impressive since March when it totaled less than …

It’s becoming a little more common for exchanges to have the government’s blessing to trade BTC derivatives. Bitnomial Exchange is the latest to join this mostly private party, having received a so-called “order of designation” from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), granting it the status of a designated contract market. This means Bitnomial joins names like Bakkt, CME, LegerX, and CBOE — the few companies who are already trading these crypto derivatives. Bitcoin ETFs continue to be rejected by the SEC, but the CFTC lets some exchanges offer this type of product. It's physically settled in Bitcoin, so the …

CryptoCompare has published its monthly report analyzing the trade activity on crypto exchanges. The record-breaking crash of March 12 and 13 drove new all-time volume highs in both the spot and derivatives markets. March 13 sets record for daily spot trades The report states that March 13 produced the single greatest volume in the history of crypto assets — with all exchanges and markets producing $75.9 billion in trade activity over 24 hours. $54.3 billion of 71.5% of trades came from ‘Lower Tier’ exchanges, while ‘Top Tier’ exchanges generated $21.6 billion in volume. Despite Binance and OKEx representing the largest …

A report produced by derivatives analysis firm, Acuiti, has revealed a growing interest in listing crypto assets among institutions, despite lingering compliance concerns. The report was compiled in partnership with exchanges, Bitstamp, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The study surveyed 86 “senior executives from the buy-side, sell-side, and proprietary trading groups specialized in traditional derivatives trading, clearing and execution.” The report also supplemented its findings by surveying trading firms which specialize in cryptocurrencies. 26% of trading firms have adopted crypto assets in some form The report found that 17% of traditional trading firms have already adopted crypto assets — …

Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $8,000 on March 10 as markets worldwide began a seemingly miraculous recovery from Monday’s crash. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 BTC price follows stocks revival Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD reclaiming the $8,000 mark on Tuesday, having fallen to two-month lows of $7,625. At press time, the pair traded at around $8,070, up 3.5% on the day while still 9% down versus the same time a week ago. Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coin360 The boost for Bitcoin came hours after traditional markets appeared to shake off the panic which characterized the …

Daily trade volume for Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)’s bitcoin (BTC) futures produced a new low for 2020 on Feb. 21, with $118 million worth of contracts changing hands on Friday. The record low came just three days after CME daily volume exceeded $1 billion for just the third time in the market’s history, with CME bitcoin futures producing over 23,000 contracts or $1.1 billion worth of trade on Feb. 18. Daily trade volume for CME bitcoin futures. Source: Skew Despite the near-record spike in trade activity, CME bitcoin futures volume quickly faded, plummeting by nearly 55 percent the next day. …

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $10,000 once more on Feb. 24 after a gap in CME’s futures trading implied downward pressure should characterize the start of the new week. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 BTC gives up $10K… again Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD rapidly lost 3% as Monday trading began. On Sunday, the pair had briefly managed to reclaim the $10,000 landmark. Subsequently, local lows of $9,690 gave way to support above $9,700, with Bitcoin sitting at around $9,720 as of press time. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Traders’ attention broadly focused on futures, these …

Mainstream financial entities are beginning to see Bitcoin (BTC) as a non-correlated asset, a concept Morgan Creek Digital Co-founder Anthony Pompliano has been promoting for over a year. “If Bitcoin is not likely to correlate to economic factors, or to traditional equities and fixed income securities, then Bitcoin could serve as a portfolio diversification tool,” said chief economist at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bluford Putnam said in a Feb. 11 video on Finbold. Bitcoin’s price does not move in stride with traditional markets Since Bitcoin is a new kind of borderless and decentralized asset, it makes sense that it would …

Bitcoin (BTC) crossed the $10,000 mark for swathes of institutional investors this week as markets looked increasingly likely to surge higher still. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 CME reaches $10K per Bitcoin Data from CME Group’s Bitcoin futures shows the implied price of Bitcoin reaching the symbolic five figures on Feb. 6. Since then, a slight correction has sent BTC/USD a shade lower — it currently trades at $9,800, while CME’s futures are hovering around $9,900. CME Bitcoin futures 2-week chart. Source: TradingView Considerable enthusiasm has accompanied sustained price momentum for Bitcoin throughout the past week’s trading. After challenging …

Slowly but surely, institutional players are moving into the crypto/blockchain neighborhood. According to a 2019 Fidelity Investments survey, about 22% of institutional investors already have some exposure to digital assets, with most investments having been made within the past three years. Moreover, 4 in 10 respondents say they are open to future investments in digital assets over the next five years. “Institutional investor involvement in cryptocurrency in 2019 has been primarily about getting the infrastructure in place, such as the opening of Fidelity Digital Assets and Bakkt,” Jonathan Levin, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph, adding: “Now …

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 …