The first half of 2025 marked a pivotal transition in the crypto derivatives landscape, with institutional capital driving significant changes in market structure.
According to CoinGlass’s H1 2025 report, the surge in demand for regulated products and robust inflows into spot ETFs have redefined the Bitcoin and Ethereum markets.
CME Leads Bitcoin Futures
In particular, CME has become the top exchange by Bitcoin futures open interest (OI), surpassing crypto-native giant Binance. As of June 1, CME’s BTC futures OI stood at 158,300 BTC, worth $16.5 billion. This eclipsed Binance’s 118,700 BTC, worth $12.3 billion.
These figures highlight a growing preference for regulated derivatives platforms, with institutions increasingly gaining exposure through CME and spot ETFs.
While Binance still holds the largest share among crypto-native exchanges, its market dominance has notably eroded. This comes as rivals like OKX and Bybit also gain ground.
BTC and ETH Futures Reach Record Highs
Meanwhile, total open interest across BTC derivatives soared past $70 billion in May amid rising institutional flows and futures demand. On the Ethereum front, ETH futures OI crossed $30 billion. Binance led the ETH exposure with 2.354 million ETH worth $6 billion.
Despite the increase in aggregate open interest, user leverage remained disciplined. Episodes of heightened volatility in February and April flushed out over-leveraged positions, helping to keep market-wide leverage ratios in check.
Bitcoin Recovers, Strengthens Market Dominance
Notably, Bitcoin experienced considerable volatility in the first half of 2025. After hitting $109K in January, BTC plunged to $74K in April, only to stage a strong recovery and reach a new high of $112K in May. It stabilized at around $107K in June.
Amid this recovery, Bitcoin’s market dominance surged past 65% by Q2, the highest level since 2021. Analysts attribute this to BTC’s growing status as a macro hedge bolstered by ETF inflows and global macroeconomic factors.
Ethereum Underperforms, ETH/BTC Ratio Plunges
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s performance was markedly weaker. After briefly touching $3,700 in January, ETH slumped below $1,400 in April, a drawdown of over 60%. It recovered to $2,500 by June and has continued to hold that level.
The ETH/BTC ratio plummeted by over 50%, falling from 0.036 to 0.017. This highlights diminishing investor confidence in ETH relative to BTC despite the rollout of the Pectra upgrade.
Looking ahead, CoinGlass noted that the crypto market’s trajectory will likely hinge on macroeconomic developments and regulatory progress. Specifically, potential Fed rate cuts and the approval of staking features in ETH spot ETFs could reignite risk appetite.
For now, BTC’s role as a macro hedge continues to solidify while institutionalization in the derivatives market accelerates.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
