Bitcoin price as steadily increased in the past few weeks and has now reached $8,000 for the first time since July 2018 further affirming BTC price predictions that the crypto winter is now a thing of the past. As BTC price makes its way to a possible new all-time high, bitcoin is already breaking records.
As expected the remarkable steady increase in bitcoin price in the past couple of weeks has rubbed off on other investment vehicles. In bitcoin price news today, we report that a new record has been set in the investment in bitcoin futures contracts offered by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in the wake of the bitcoin price surge.
CME Bitcoin Futures Record All-time High Daily Volume
On Monday, May 13, CME Group which offers Bitcoin Futures contracts reported a record volume of its BTC futures for the day having recorded 33.7K contracts and 168,000 equivalent bitcoin (about $1.35 billion USD)
The exchange wrote:
“CME Bitcoin futures reached an all-time record high of 33.7K contracts on May 13 (168K equivalent bitcoin), up nearly 50% from the last record of 22.5K contracts on April 4.”
The new record illustrates the impact of the recent bitcoin bull run which has further dragged institutional investors into bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. The last remarkable bitcoin bull run—and the most significant to date—saw CME and fellow Chicago-based exchange CBOE hopped on the bitcoin bandwagon with the launch of bitcoin futures contracts. As BTC price made its way towards a record high in 2017, the popular exchanges introduced Bitcoin Futures (XBT) contracts.
And while CBOE suspended trading of CBOE bitcoin futures last month, the CME has gone on to reach a new record volume of the CME bitcoin futures contracts. In April, the exchange saw a record of around 22,500 contracts but that has almost been doubled in May, thanks to the recent bitcoin bull run that has now lasted a just about two months.
Bitcoin Price Today – BTC to USD
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.15% |
At the time of writing BTC to USD is trading at $7,987 after a slight downward correction after touching a high of $8,300 in some exchanges the previous day. Interestingly Bitcoin BTC doubled in trading volumes from last week reaching back to back high daily volumes. Yesterday, BTC reached a daily trading volume of $32 billion and $28 billion the previous day.
Physically-Settled Bitcoin Futures Contracts to Launch Soon
As the bitcoin bull run continues, bitcoin enthusiasts are in for even more interesting times as they will have the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin via a physically-settled bitcoin futures contract offered by a regulated exchange. In a blog post on Monday, May 13, Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler announced that Bakkt had “worked closely” with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to bring the bitcoin futures trading live this Summer.
Bakkt is a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and its interest in physically-settled bitcoin futures has drawn a lot of interest within and outside the cryptocurrency community. The investment vehicle has been held back due to delays in regulatory approval.
In the post, Loeffler explained that the firm will self-certify its bitcoin futures products through the ICE, meaning that the CFTC will have to assess whether or not the proposals violate any laws or regulations. The Bakkt bitcoin futures is different from CME’s as it involves actual custody of the bitcoins after the contracts expire.
Riccardo Lopp is a writer specializing in Crypto, ethereum and whole blockchain ecosystem. His background is in economics and statistics.
