CME’s Monthly Crypto Volumes Hits Record High in January, Surges 180%

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) has revealed that in the first month of the year, its crypto contracts saw an average daily volume (ADV) of 198,000 with a notional value of $13.6 billion.

The CME detailed in a press release on Tuesday that year-over-year, its cryptocurrency ADV rose 180% as its micro bitcoin (BTC) futures registered a 255% rise, while its micro ether (ETH) futures contracts jumped 223%.

While the exchange’s bitcoin and ether futures contracts have a notional value of 5 BTC and 50 ETH, respectively, their micro contracts represent just 0.1 of each cryptocurrency, allowing for more precise trading and risk management given their smaller size.

On top of its full-sized and micro contracts for the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the CME also offers traders options on these contracts. These options enable more complex strategies to fine-tune their risk exposure.

Options contracts provide traders with the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell cryptocurrency futures at a predetermined price on or before a specific date.

The futures exchange recorded a total ADV of 25.7 million contracts in January.

Just last week, the CME Group announced it’s eyeing the introduction of options on Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) from Feb. 24, although these are pending regulatory approval.