Crypto Insights | October 2022

While the cryptocurrency market has experienced turbulence in recent months, CME Group’s cryptocurrency product suite has continued to see consistent volume and OI growth. Institutional investors continued to turn to our products to hedge market risk and gain exposure to this asset class, especially around notable market events such as the Etherum Merge.

Records

• Q3 2022 average daily OI reached a record 174,537 contracts across all crypto products, outpacing Q2 by more than 64%
• Bitcoin futures average daily OI reached 13,693 contracts (+18% vs. Q2-22)
• Ether futures Q3 2022 average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 7,247 contracts (+10% vs. Q2-22), while Micro Ether futures achieved a record ADV of 22,145 contracts and average daily OI of 50,369 contracts throughout the quarter.
• Micro Bitcoin options quarterly ADV was 624 contracts with average daily OI of 6,531 contracts; Micro Ether options average daily OI reached a record 74,841 contracts.
• CME Group Cryptocurrency futures combined Large Open Interest Holders (LOIH) reached a record 411 the week of July 5.

More on cryptocurrency products at CME Group

Ether options: Launched September 12, the Ether options are designed to provide more versatility for managing ether price risk and to enhance your cryptocurrency trading strategies. Access futures liquidity with Ether options settling into liquid Ether futures, based on the regulated CME Group CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. Enjoy capital-efficient exposure of futures and save on potential margin offsets across our suite of Cryptocurrency futures and options. Add versatility to your strategies by easily expressing your views using our range of monthly to quarterly contracts to manage price risk.

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Bitcoin Euro futures and Ether Euro futures: Launched August 29, Bitcoin Euro futures and Ether Euro futures enable traders to access futures on euro-denominated cryptocurrencies, which are the second highest-traded fiat behind USD. With increasing demand for euro-denominated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts and growing institutional regional interest, CME Group has introduced a second currency pair on our market-leading Cryptocurrency futures. The new contracts are designed to match that of their U.S.-denominated counterparts at 5 bitcoin or 50 ether per contract.

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Clients continue to tap into the rising liquidity of CME Group cryptocurrency products during periods of market uncertainty. Combined open interest across CME Group Cryptocurrency futures and options reached a record average of 174.6K contracts throughout Q3 2022, an increase of 64% vs. Q2-22.

Micro Ether futures (MET) provide a cost-effective and efficient way to manage ether exposure for traders of all sizes at 1/10 of one ether. Since their launch in December 2021, over 4.1M contracts have traded with a record ADV of 22.2K contracts in Q3 2022. Large Open Interest Holders (LOIH) was 139 in Q3, with a record 139 during the week of July 6.

Ether futures (ETH) have now traded nearly 2.1M contracts since their launch in February 2021. Q3 2022 ADV was 7.2K contracts and OI averaged 4.1K contracts (+19% vs. Q2-22). Institutional participation continues to grow, a record LOIH of 63 occurred the week of Sep 20. Take advantage of overnight liquidity with 43% of trades occurring during non-U.S. trading hours.

Micro Bitcoin futures (MBT) had a Q3 2022 ADV of 10.9K contracts and OI averaged 21.1K contracts (+8% vs. Q2-22). 27% of trades were submitted from outside of North America, with 35% of volume traded during non-U.S. hours.

Micro Cryptocurrency options launched on March 28. Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether options are right-sized at 1/10 of their respective coins. Nearly 345K total contracts have traded.

Bitcoin futures (BTC) Q3 2022 ADV was over 11.7K contracts (+8% vs. Q2-22) and open interest averaged a record 13.7K contracts (+18% vs. Q2-22). LOIHs averaged 96 in Q3 2022 as institutional interest continues to increase. 36% of volume is traded outside of North America.

More on cryptocurrency products at CME Group

All data accurate of September 30, 2022, unless otherwise indicated.