Open interest in CME’s cash-settled futures contracts has topped 100,000 BTC.
The percentage of BTC futures traded on the CME also hit an all-time high.
When comparing the early stages of the 2020-21 bull run to the present, the rise in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) open interest in bitcoin (BTC) futures and perpetual futures mirrors that of the first few months of the latter year.
According to Coinglass, CME has risen from fourth place to second place among bitcoin futures exchanges due to its notional open interest (OI) of $3.54 billion. The term “notional open interest” describes the value of US dollars locked in the quantity of open or active contracts.
Significant Uptick
Binance continues to lead in terms of open interest, with $3.83 billion, which is 8% lower than CME. For the first time ever, open interest in CME’s cash-settled futures contracts has topped 100,000 BTC. The percentage of BTC futures traded on the CME also hit an all-time high.
The typical contract size for bitcoin futures on CME is 5 BTC, whereas the micro contract size is 1/10th of a bitcoin. Contract sizes for regular Ether Futures are 50 ETH, while those for micro Futures are 1/10 of an ETH.
Perpetual futures, rather than standard futures contracts, account up the vast majority of open interest on offshore exchanges. Futures with no end date are called “perpetuals,” and they are kept in line with the market price via the funding rate method.
Some have speculated that CME’s rise is indicative of an institutionally guided rally. Despite continuing macroeconomic uncertainties and spot ETF euphoria, the price of bitcoin has climbed by 27.89% this month.