Bitcoin and Ether Futures Surge in Q2 Driven by Institutional Demand

<p>

The interest in Bitcoin and Ether futures among
institutional investors increased in the second quarter as investors seek out products
that enable them to mitigate risks and the impact of high market volatility.</p><p>According to a report
from the Chicago Mercantile <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/exchange/">Exchange</a> (CME) shared with Coindesk, the number of
institutional investors holding at least 25 Bitcoin futures contracts was 107
on average during the second quarter, while those holding Ether futures were 62.</p><p>Additionally, more
institutional investors opted for CME’s regulated and cash-settled futures
during the quarter as a way of investing in Bitcoin and Ether without having to
own the crypto assets. On top of that, an increase in demand for hedging tools
boosted the trading volumes and the open interest in BTC and Ether.</p><p>Bitcoin and Ether Prices</p><p>The increase in funds
channeled by institutional investors into <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/b/bitcoin/">Bitcoin</a> and Ether futures was boosted
by the rise in price of the top cryptocurrencies, the CME said. The price of
Bitcoin increased 84% in the first half of the year and upped 7% in the three
months that ended in June.</p><p>Open interest in
standard Bitcoin futures contracts, which refers to the number of active
contracts at a given time, increased 15% year-over-year to an average of
14,800 contracts in H1. Besides that, the open interest in Bitcoin
options was 9,400 contracts on average during the period, representing an
increase of 175% year-over-year.</p><p>Spot
Bitcoin ETFs </p><p>The growing interest
among institutions in Bitcoin futures is reportedly attributed to the recent
wave of applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs by several asset managers in the US. <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/blackrock-seeks-approval-for-a-spot-bitcoin-etf-in-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Finance
Magnates</a> reported about
a week ago that <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-exchange-traded-products-etps-post-record-monthly-investments/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Bitcoin
exchange-traded products</a> (ETPs)
had reached a record high.</p><p>The ETPs increased 25,202 Bitcoins (equivalent to USD $757 million) to 196,824 Bitcoins during the
four-week period ending July 16. The figures represented the second-highest monthly
investments in ETPs since the first Bitcoin-based futures contract was launched
in 2021.</p><p>The
top asset management company globally, BlackRock, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/blackrock-seeks-approval-for-a-spot-bitcoin-etf-in-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="follow">submitted
an application</a> to list
the first US spot Bitcoin ETF in June. Similarly, the exchange operator Cboe
filed applications for the spot Bitcoin ETFs on behalf of Fidelity,
WisdomTree, VanEck, and Invesco.</p>

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.