Asia Leads Bitcoin Futures Volume to Skyrocket to Record Highs in April

Bitcoin’s recent surge from $4,000 to over $5,300 has sent shockwaves throughout the crypto markets, as it has led many individual cryptocurrencies to clock in gains of 50% or more, while others have more than doubled from their monthly lows.

Another impact that this price surge had on the markets is sparking a renewed interest in Bitcoin futures, as the CME Group’s Bitcoin contract trading volumes have surged to record highs in the first few days of April alone.

Bitcoin Futures Volumes Hit All-Time-Highs

According to a recent report from Bloomberg, CME Bitcoin futures set a fresh all-time-high on April 4th, with 22,542 contracts – equivalent to 112,710 BTC – being traded, worth a mind-boggling $546 million.

The massive trading volume incurred on CME may renew interest in cryptocurrency futures from competitors, as Cboe Global Markets, who sparked the Bitcoin futures movement, recently made a statement explaining that it would be not be listing any additional contract options, and that it would be “assessing its approach with respect to how it plans to continue to offer digital asset derivatives for trading.”

This announcement, which came about late-last month, led many in the cryptocurrency industry to believe that the persisting bear market had dried up interest in Bitcoin futures contracts, but the recent surge in trading volume for CME’s Bitcoin futures contracts signals that interest in futures contracts for the largest cryptocurrency is stronger than ever.

Asia Behind Latest CME Bitcoin Futures Surge

According to the report, the sudden influx of trading volume on April 4th stemmed from Asia, which accounted for 12,634 contracts – over half of the total amount of contracts traded on that day.

Joseph Young, a popular figure within the cryptocurrency industry, spoke about the latest revelation regarding the CME futures trading volume surge and its roots in Asia, noting that Asia’s interest in crypto may continue to surge as over-the-counter (OTC) purchases of Bitcoin surge in the crypto-unfriendly China.

“CME bitcoin futures recorded $546 million in volume on April 4 and most of it came from Asia according to Bloomberg. With China seeing strong OTC bitcoin buys (as reported by @cnLedger), it seems like the overall interest in crypto in Asia is rising fairly rapidly,” Young explained in a recent tweet.

CME bitcoin futures recorded $546 million in volume on April 4 and most of it came from Asia according to Bloomberg.

With China seeing strong OTC bitcoin buys (as reported by @cnLedger), it seems like the overall interest in crypto in Asia is rising fairly rapidly.

— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) April 9, 2019

The report that Young is referring to is a recent claim from Chinese cryptocurrency news outlet, cnLedger, that explains that Chinese citizens are increasingly turning towards OTC trading to acquire Bitcoin, while also circumventing the government’s restrictions on purchasing the nascent technology.

“Chinese markets reveal strong buys. OTC (Over-The-Counter) trades, the almost only way to buy bitcoin with fiat in China, showing considerable $ premium (1 USDT = 7 CNY) over the official rate of 1 USD = 6.7 CNY,” they noted.

1/ Chinese markets reveal strong buys. OTC (Over-The-Counter) trades, the almost only way to buy bitcoin with fiat in China, showing considerable $ premium (1 USDT = 7 CNY) over the official rate of 1 USD = 6.7 CNY. pic.twitter.com/bd0n0DGFVU

— cnLedger (@cnLedger) April 8, 2019

It is highly likely that the latest surge in Bitcoin futures contract trading volume will generate renewed interest in futures contracts from CME’s competitors, and act as a signal to the entire crypto industry that interest in the markets is still alive and well.