Demand from institutional investors drives up bitcoin futures trading volumes on CME
CME Group says they have seen “tremendous interest” from Asian investors
Demand from global institutional investors has lifted trading volumes on the CME by more than 50 per cent since CME Group launched its first bitcoin futures product in December, with Asian investors showing “tremendous interest” in the new asset class, according to a top executive.
CME Group, the operator of the world’s largest futures exchange, launched its bitcoin futures product on December 18, 2017. Last year, the total value of the crytocurrency market surged more than 30 fold. It followed a similar move by smaller rival Cboe Global Markets a week earlier, a sign that many analysts regard as the beginning of the young digital currency being absorbed into the mainstream financial system.
Tim McCourt, managing director and global head of equity products and alternative investments at CME Group, said trading in the group’s bitcoin futures product has become increasingly active, indicating that the demand has been rising.
“It [trading volume] is steadily increasing each month,” he said during an interview in Hong Kong on Monday.
According to the CME Group, in December the average daily trading volume was about 1,600 contracts. In March, that tally jumped to 2,500 contracts, an increase of 56 per cent in less than four months.