Institutional adoption of Bitcoin may already be well underway as the leading U.S. derivatives exchange tops Binance for BTC futures contracts.
Throughout the past decade of Bitcoin, one of the most widely anticipated events is the institutional adoption of the asset. However, that wait may be nearing its climax as institutions finally warm up to Bitcoin.
A clear indication of such growing interest is the value of open interest on Bitcoin futures contracts trading on CME. Launched in 1848 and owned by CME Group, U.S.-based CME is a prominent derivatives trading platform primarily serving institutional players.
Although CME Group has offered Bitcoin-based futures contracts since 2017, trading volume on the platform has always trailed major crypto platforms, especially Binance. However, the CME’s trading volume has now, for the first time in history, topped Binance and other leading crypto exchanges such as Bybit and OKX.
According to data on Coinglass, the number of open interest in Bitcoin futures contracts on the CME currently stands at 108,900 BTC (approximately $4 billion). Binance, on the other hand, has an open interest of around 102,760 BTC (approximately $3.76 billion).
Institutional Bitcoin Interest Drives Price Rally
The surge in CME’s open interest provides one of the strongest indications that Bitcoin’s rally since the beginning of the quarter has largely been driven by institutional interest. Most of such interest is fueled by speculation around the potential approval of the first U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETF.
Market participants anticipate that such a product would open the way for everyday investors and even more institutional players to get exposure to BTC. Being further backed by major names such as BlackRock and Fidelity legitimizes BTC as an institution-ready asset.
Bitcoin soared to highs around $37,900 on Thursday as anticipation continued to build. The leading crypto asset trades at $36,500 at the time of writing, maintaining a relatively bullish momentum going into the weekend.
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