CME crypto futures see record activity during bear market

Bitcoin and Ether futures trading on CME remained elevated in the second quarter, with daily open interest hitting all-time highs.< /p > New

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) derivatives contracts offered by CME Group saw record activity in the second quarter, offering tangible proof that professional traders were still accessing digital assets during the bear market.

Average daily open interest (OI) on CME's crypto futures products reached 106,200 contracts in the second quarter, the highest on record, the company revealed on Thursday. In futures markets, the OI reflects the total number of derivative contracts that have not settled.

In terms of average daily volume, Bitcoin futures saw 10,700 contracts traded in Q2; Ether's daily volume was 6,100 contracts.

During the week of June 21, the number of Large Open Interest Holders (LOIH) accessing CME Group crypto products reached a high of 404, signaling "growing interest from institutional investors and large sophisticated investors," the company said.

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Despite extreme market volatility for Bitcoin and Ether, CME Group's crypto futures products have been "a haven of consistent liquidity with continued volume and growth in open interest for investors," said Tim McCourt , CME's Global Head of Equity and FX Products, adding:

"Product variety, including smaller micro-bitcoin and micro-ether futures and options, provides increased trading flexibility and accuracy for a range of market participants, including including large institutions as well as sophisticated and active traders."

In 2017, CME Group became the second derivatives exchange to offer Bitcoin futures, after its cross...