Binance Flips CME to Reclaim Top Spot in Bitcoin Futures OI After 3 Months

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reclaimed its top spot in Bitcoin (BTC) futures open interest (OI), towering over the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Recall that CME, the world’s biggest futures and options exchange catering to traditional institutional players, surpassed Binance last November to secure the top spot among exchanges with the highest Bitcoin futures open interest. 

This was the first time CME surpassed Binance in BTC OI. As reported by The Crypto Basic on Nov. 10, 2023, this event underscored a growing interest in the premier cryptocurrency from traditional institutions amid its price recovery campaign in the fourth quarter of the year.

In addition, Binance’s regulatory woes, which saw its former CEO Changpeng Zhao resign as part of a settlement with the U.S. DoJ, also compounded the exchange’s decline in Bitcoin futures Open Interest. At the time, Binance’s BTC OI dropped to 102,760 BTC while CME’s figure hit 108,900 BTC.

Binance Flips CME in Bitcoin Futures OI

However, after three months of dominance, CME has relinquished the top spot to Binance, Glassnode data confirms.

Per a disclosure today, Binance’s Bitcoin futures Open Interest has increased to 105,000 BTC valued at $4.97 billion against prevailing rates. Meanwhile, CME’s OI currently stands at 101,000 BTC worth $4.78 billion.

#Binance regains lead over CME in #Bitcoin futures open interest, with 105,000 BTC on Binance vs. 101,000 $BTC on CME.

Data indicates a shift towards cheaper spot Bitcoin ETFs post-ETF approval, causing a 30% drop in CME futures open interest. pic.twitter.com/vQ2I16SvtP

— Satoshi Club (@esatoshiclub) February 9, 2024

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Glassnode data indicates that Binance’s share of the global Bitcoin futures Open Interest has finally surpassed CME’s share for the first time since last November amid a consistent rise in Binance’s rate alongside a persistent drop in CME’s share.

As observed, this drop began in early January, coinciding with the SEC’s historic approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. These products are preferable to futures contracts because they track the price of Bitcoin by holding the actual cryptocurrency in a secure vault provided by custodians.

Presented by financial giants such as BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck and Grayscale, the spot Bitcoin ETF products have attracted institutional players for the benefits they provide against futures contracts. This has led to a shift in investor appetite, as more institutions move from futures on CME to spot ETFs.

Data indicates that CME’s futures open interest has recorded a 30% collapse since it hit a high earlier this year.

CME began trading Bitcoin futures contracts in December 2017, but only started garnering considerable interest in recent times, as traditional players turned to the asset class.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has finally engineered a price recovery following weeks of consistent declines and range-bound movements.

The asset is up 6.14%, currently changing hands at a one-month high of $47,604. The upsurge has triggered the liquidation of over $61 million in short positions in the past 24 hours.