Crypto Insights | April 2023

Volatility in the cryptocurrency market spiked throughout Q1 given significant crypto-tangent market-moving events. Clients are increasingly turning to reliable and efficient risk-management products offered by CME Group. Higher client demand for hedging tools led to record volume and open interest for options on Cryptocurrency futures.

Bitcoin’s price has increased 70% since the beginning of the year showing resiliency amid a banking crisis. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has also rallied but to a lesser degree, rising 54%. Traders of all sizes are using our suite of Cryptocurrency futures and options to manage exposure around-the-clock and manage price movements in both bitcoin and ether over the coming months. 

• Reduced fees on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether contracts
  Delivering deeper liquidity, greater capital efficiency, and now lower fees. View the fee schedule for details, including member exchange discounts.
  • Futures (through August 31, 2023):
    • MBT futures non-member exchange fees are reduced from $2.50 to $1.00 per contract.
    • MET futures non-member exchange fees are reduced from $0.20 to $0.10 per contract.
  • Options (through January 31, 2024):
    • Exchange trading fees are reduced by 50% per contract.
• New CME CF Reference Rates and Real-Time indices on Metaverse Tokens
  CME Group, in partnership with CF Benchmarks, introduced three new Metaverse tokens on January 30. Access transparent pricing on Axie Infinity, Chiliz, and Decentraland. This expands the suite of regulated, non-tradable Cryptocurrency Reference Rates and Real-Time Indices to 22 cryptocurrencies, covering 95% of the total investable market cap. View the tool to get started.
• TAS on Bitcoin futures and Micro Bitcoin futures
  Launched February 6, Trading at Settlement (TAS) functionality allows market participants to enter a trade at a spread to the yet-to-be-determined daily settlement price of the Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin futures contracts calculated at 4:00 p.m. EST. TAS enables clients to transact at or near the futures settlement price, making it particularly useful when replicating an index and complements our Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) mechanism. View the FAQ to learn more.
• Event contracts on Bitcoin futures
  Launched March 13, event contracts offer a new way to gain exposure to Bitcoin futures price movement. These limited-risk, cash-settled daily expiring contracts on Bitcoin futures complement our suite of 10 existing events contracts tied to benchmark futures markets. A record 1,050 event contracts on Bitcoin futures traded on March 31.  Fees are waived through the end of August 2023. 

Bitcoin futures (BTC) institutional interest continued to increase throughout the quarter as investors sought regulated venues and products to hedge rising market volatility and manage risk. Q1 2023 ADV reached over 11K contracts and open interest averaged 15K contracts. The number of LOIHs averaged a record 111 in Q1 2023, with a record 122 the week of March 21.

Ether futures (ETH) has had over 2.8M contracts (141M equivalent ether) traded since launch just over two years ago. LOIH reached a record 79 the week of January 17 and averaged a record 70 throughout the quarter. Options on Ether futures are now available, with over 4.6K contracts traded since launch.

Cryptocurrency options had a record 2,357 Bitcoin options contracts traded on March 22 and OI reached a record 14.7K contracts on March 31. Over 4.6K Ether options have traded since their September 2022 launch. A record 311 Ether options contracts traded on February 22 and OI reached a record 1.8K contracts on March 24.

Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures (MBT and MET) are precise, cost-effective tools to manage cryptocurrency risk. Q1 2023 ADV reached 10K contracts each. MET OI averaged 20K contracts while MBT OI averaged 11K. Since their respective launches, over 8M MBT contracts have traded and over 5.7M MET contracts have traded.

Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures are available to trade. The recently launched contracts match their U.S.-denominated counterparts at 5 bitcoin or 50 ether per contract providing access to a second currency pair.

 More on cryptocurrency products at CME Group

All data accurate of March 31, 2023, unless otherwise indicated.