Bitcoin Futures Open Interest on CME Hit $5 Billion

Last updated: December 19, 2023 00:18 EST
. 1 min read

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Bitcoin futures open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) – has seen a spike rising from $2.20 billion on September 30th to $5.09 billion today, according to data from Glassnode.

The rise in open interest is due to bitcoin’s ongoing uptrend to $44,400 on Tuesday marking a new yearly high and this uptick could continue according to one analyst.

“The futures positioning on CME shows Bitcoin could still move higher from its current price, what is not clear is whether we moved from a net short positioning from last week to net long. We are interpreting this as a signal that traditional finance institutions are now slowly showing a renewed appetite for crypto products,” says Laurent Kssis, a crypto expert on trading and ETFs at CEC Capital.

Kssis goes on to explain that you cannot exclude that institutions are positioning themselves in advance of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decision when it comes to approving a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), which he believes will result in a rapid short term upward price tick for Bitcoin which we are already witnessing.

SEC Delays Spot Ethereum ETF

Earlier today the U.S. SEC confirmed it has postponed its decision on Grayscale‘s application for its spot Ethereum ETF and extended the review period with a new deadline set for January 2024.

“We are not convinced that the current move from $41,000 to $44,000 can hold as we could see huge profit-taking take place and put downward pressure on BTC back to $39,000 in the mid-term.,” warns Kssis, adding that he would not be surprised if a “sell the news” style event happens in the days and weeks.

With CME bitcoin open interest back at all-time high, many are betting that microeconomic sentiments are also improving and a cutting of rates is now well anticipated and a driver of price action.