As speculation of a spot Bitcoin ETF continues and the upcoming halving approaches, CME Group saw continuous daily open interest records in Bitcoin futures. Cryptocurrency options have also continued to increase in volume and open interest throughout the end of the year as more clients looked to manage the market events. Both Bitcoin and Ether futures and options open interest rounded out the year at record highs as their prices increased 160% and 97% since the beginning of the year.

• Bitcoin
  • Futures ADV of 11.2K contracts (+4% vs. 2022), open interest averaged 16.5K (+28% vs. 2022)
  • Options ADV of 351 contracts (+135% vs. 2022), open interest averaged 8.4K (+147% vs. 2022)
• Ether
  • Futures open interest averaged 4.5K (+11% vs. 2022)
  • Options ADV of 130 contracts (+587% vs. 2022), open interest averaged 2.8K (+639 vs. 2022)
• Micro Bitcoin
  • Options ADV of 617 (+57% vs. 2022), open interest averaged 7.1K (+53 vs. 2022)

Options across the Cryptocurrency suite had record number of accounts trading throughout December. Additionally, growing institutional interest drove all-time highs in the number of large open interest holders for both Bitcoin and Ether futures. Bitcoin futures LOIH averaged 112 in 2023 (+22% vs. 2022), while Ether futures LOIH increased to 92 holders (+27%).

Get prepared to better position your portfolio around potential market milestones with shorter-dated Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin options. Monday to Friday Weekly Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin options have been listed early on a one-time basis for contracts expiring from April 1 to April 30, 2024.

Reduced fees on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether contracts
Delivering deeper liquidity, greater capital efficiency and now lower fees through July 31, 2024. View the fee schedule for details, including member exchange discounts.

Futures:

• 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:

• Exchange trading fees are reduced by 50% per contract

The 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. Eastern time. TAS enables clients to transact at or near the futures settlement price, making it particularly useful when replicating an index, complementing the Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) mechanism.

Event Contracts offer an intuitive, straightforward and cost-effective way to access exposure to Bitcoin futures price movements. These limited-risk, cash-settled and daily expiring contracts on Bitcoin futures complement our suite of 11 events contracts tied to benchmarks futures markets. Starting January 29, pending regulatory review, the contract size for all event contracts will increase from $20 to $100, allowing the contract to align more closely to the probability of a trade’s success. 

Over 72K Bitcoin event contracts have traded since launch. Cash-Settlement Fees are waived through the end of April 2024. Find out more here.

Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures enable traders to efficiently capture the relative value between ether and bitcoin in a single transaction. The recently launched contract is cash-settled based on the settlement prices of the corresponding futures contracts. Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures can help market participants access ether-bitcoin exposure without the need to take a directional view. Read the FAQ to delve deeper.

Q4 VOLUME AND OPEN INTEREST
Cryptocurrency futures and options
ADV: 48.4K contracts (+71% vs. Q3-23)
OI: 120K contracts (+39% vs. Q3-23)

Bitcoin futures (BTC) As market events approached, participants continued to seek CME Group’s regulated products to manage risk and exposure. Q4 2023 average daily volume (ADV) was 12.9K contracts (+27% vs. Q3) and open interest averaged 20.4K contracts (+29% vs. Q3). The number of large open interest holders (LOIH) averaged 118 in Q4 2023, with a record 137 the week of November 7. Bitcoin options have traded over 180K contracts since launch.

Ether futures (ETH) Over 3.7M contracts (187M equivalent ether) have traded since launch. LOIHs averaged 69 throughout Q4 2023. Options on Ether futures reached a record 962 contracts traded on November 10 and open interest reached a record 6.3K on December 19.

Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures (MBT & MET) provide precise, cost-effective tools to manage cryptocurrency risk. Q4 2023 ADV was a combined 25.2K contracts, double Q3 ADV. MET OI averaged 22K contracts (+56% vs. Q3 2023) while MBT OI averaged 11.5K contracts (+7% vs. Q3). Since their respective launches, nearly 10M MBT contracts have traded and over 7.5M MET contracts have traded. Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether options have traded over 912K contracts since launch.

Q3 Volume and Open Interest
Cryptocurrency futures and options
ADV: 28.4K contracts
Open interest: 83.2K contracts

Bitcoin futures (BTC) institutional interest continued to increase throughout the quarter as investors sought regulated venues and products to hedge market volatility and manage exposure. Q3 2023 average daily volume (ADV) was nearly 10.2K contracts and open interest averaged 15.8K contracts. The number of LOIHs averaged 109 in Q3 2023. Bitcoin Options have traded over 152K contracts since launch.

Ether futures (ETH) Nearly 3.4M contracts (170M equivalent ether) have traded since launch just over two years ago. LOIHs averaged 63 throughout the quarter. Options on Ether futures reached a record 672 options traded on August 18 and open interest reached a record 4.5K on September 29.

Micro Bitcoin (MBT) and Micro Ether futures (MET) provide precise, cost-effective tools to manage cryptocurrency risk. Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures Q3 2023 ADV was a combined 12.5K, while OI averaged 25k contracts. Since their respective launches, over 9.1M MBT contracts have traded and over 6.6M MET contracts have traded. Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether options offer additional flexibility and granularity to manage risk, over 704K contracts have since launch.