The Chicago Board Options Exchange may be regretting its decision to pull Bitcoin futures last year.
Reports released yesterday show the CME Group, the remaining vendor of such financial opportunities, had a record number of Bitcoin futures transactions, or more specifically, record volume, amid a cryptocurrency bull market.
“That figure (of recent activity) represented an equivalent 168,000 BTC ($1.35 billion) — an almost 50% rise versus the previous high of 22,500 contracts and 112,700 BTC (currently $909.2 million) on April 4,” writes William Suberg in Cointelegraph this morning, citing a “parabolic advance.”
Suberg notes the context of a scenario where Bitcoin, the biggest household name in cryptocurrencies, has been rapidly outpacing prior highs
Look at one month, three month or six month charts, and you’ll see enormous growth in Bitcoin value as BTC has doubled its price within the past month.
Setting aside how incredible this news is for Bitcoin buy an holders or day traders, it also has consequences for CME and CBOE.
“Bitcoin’s most recent seven-week bull run began to gather speed on April 1: on Tuesday, the largest cryptocurrency set a yearly high of $8,335,” Suberg writes. “Bitcoin’s own trading volumes similarly set separate daily records, with two days of back-to-back historic highs occurring this week. CME, meanwhile, has called for increased regulatory participation in cryptocurrency, arguing that involvement of authorities is essential if the phenomenon is to be a success.”
CBOE seems mum on whether the exchange will re-add BTC futures, but analysts put the move in perspective in coverage back in March.
“The Cboe contracts weren’t delivering a lot of volumes anyway,” Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, told Bitcoin Magazine, according to coverage by Michael Tiaberg March 15. “The dominant player on Wall Street remains the CME Group, whose Bitcoin futures remain in play.”
However, the recent BTC boom WILL have major market effects. Stay tuned!!
