CME tops Bitcoin futures OI as ‘real facts’ drive institutional uptake

Bitcoin (BTC) faces a “torrent” of institutional inflows in the run-up to a United States exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval.

That is the perspective of Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 10T Holdings, who has joined the bulls eyeing a sea change in institutional Bitcoin adoption.

Tapiero: Mass capital inflows “about to hit” Bitcoin

As excitement over the potential go-ahead for a U.S. Bitcoin spot price ETF grows, BTC price action has reacted in kind.

As BTC/USD hit 18-month highs, meanwhile, institutional tides are already showing signs of shifting. Open interest on CME Group’s Bitcoin futures markets — the classic institutional venue for BTC derivatives — passed that of Binance for the first time this week.

For Tapiero, this is a watershed moment.

“Now begins the renewed drumbeat of ‘institutional adoption’ of Bitcoin,” he announced on Nov. 10.

“Real facts driving idea now rather than hope. As CME btc futures open interest surpasses Binance in the #1 spot. Torrent of capital from the traditional world about to hit.”

Aggregate Bitcoin futures open interest passed $17 billion on Nov. 9, marking seven-month highs. The tally at the time of writing is a shade lower at $15.5 billion, per data from monitoring resource CoinGlass.

The optimism over the ETF approval, slated for early 2024 but which some argue could come as soon as this month, is widely shared.

In its latest market update on Nov. 10, trading firm QCP Capital further highlighted a potential spot ETF for Ether (ETH) as a crypto market boost in the making.

“While we expect the approval for a spot BTC ETF to be delayed till Jan 2024, a new narrative surrounding a spot ETH ETF should be enough fuel for animal spirits to take hold once again with crypto prices steadily grinding higher towards the end of the year,” it wrote.

Bitcoin daily RSI signals demand “caution”

Within the broader bullish landscape, however, QCP warned that a series of lower highs on Bitcoin’s daily relative strength index (RSI) values could signal a cooling-off from the highs next.

Related: Bitcoin puzzles traders as BTC price targets $40K despite declining volume

“With the macro picture now turning slightly rosier in the short term as rate pause expectations are firmly in place, we expect crypto prices to stay supported. Dips will be swiftly bought into as FOMO traders try to get onto the train,” it concluded.

“However, caution is still warranted as we are at crucial resistance levels, and BTC is printing a triple bear divergence with the RSI which has been a reliable signal for momentum stalling.”

BTC/USD traded near $36,500 at the time of writing, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. ETH/USD was up over 4% on the day, passing the $2,000 mark.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.