CME Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Hits Lowest Level in 14 Months

BlockBeats News, April 11, the open interest (OI) of Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures has dropped to $8.41 billion, hitting a 14-month low. Glassnode analysts pointed out that this trend is mainly driven by basis trade unwinding, where the strategy previously established long positions through spot ETFs and hedged futures shorts to earn the spread. However, the recent annualized returns have dropped from 15%-20% to around 5%, leading to institutional profit-taking.

In addition, the daily trading volume of CME Bitcoin futures has also shrunk to below $3 billion. Analysts believe that as institutional demand shifts towards directly holding spot, the leverage level in the futures market is significantly decreasing. (The Block) https://www.theblock.co/post/396722/cme-bitcoin-futures-activity-slumps-to-14-month-low-as-basis-trade-unwind-drains-institutional-demand