CME Group Sees 129% Increase in Crypto Derivatives Volume in April, Driven by ETH Growth

CME Group’s market for cryptocurrency derivatives saw a substantial rise in trading volume during April, achieving an average daily volume (ADV) of 183,000 contracts totaling $8.9 billion, as reported by the organization.

This reflects a significant increase of 129% compared to the same month in the previous year, indicating a surge in institutional engagement within the cryptocurrency sector.

The standout performer was Ether, with CME’s ether futures ADV jumping by 239% to reach 14,000 contracts, while micro ether futures increased by 165% to hit 63,000 contracts. Additionally, micro bitcoin futures rose by 115%, amounting to 78,000 contracts.

Bitcoin and ether futures contracts at CME have a higher notional value of 5 BTC and 50 ETH, respectively. In contrast, micro contracts facilitate more targeted trading, representing merely 0.1 of each digital currency.

Earlier in the year, record levels of cryptocurrency derivatives trading were reported for the first quarter. For April, the overall ADV reached a remarkable 35.9 million contracts, marking a 36% increase year-over-year.

Despite a broader market downturn, ether’s value increased by just 1.1% over the past month, while bitcoin surged by 15.8%. The overall cryptocurrency market, as gauged by the CoinDesk 20 index, experienced a rise of 12.1%.