Key Points
- The Open Interest (OI) on CME, the world’s largest Bitcoin futures exchange, has more than doubled since the start of 2024.
- There is a significant increase in institutional interest in Bitcoin, as evidenced by the rise in whale holdings and the launch of spot ETFs.
Bitcoin [BTC] has made a significant leap past the $70k mark, potentially marking the beginning of a series of new highs in the coming months.
At the time of writing, the value of this digital asset had risen to $72k, a nearly 4% increase in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap.
Robust Institutional Interest in Bitcoin
The recent rally seems to be fueled by a rapidly growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies.
Data from Coinglass reveals that the Open Interest (OI) on the CME, the world’s largest Bitcoin futures exchange, has risen by 3.89% in the last 24 hours, exceeding $10 billion for the first time.
The OI has seen a significant increase, more than doubling since the beginning of 2024.
CME’s standard Futures contract, valued at five BTCs, is often seen as a measure of institutional interest in cryptocurrencies.
Currently, it represents over 30% of all investments in Bitcoin derivatives, with Binance trailing behind at 22%.
Increased Access and Whale Holdings
The speculative interest appears to be driven by the recent launch of spot ETFs, which have provided institutional investors with easier access to Bitcoin.
Data from SoSo Value indicates that these new ETFs have seen a cumulative trading volume of $7.69 billion since their listing.
Furthermore, Bitcoins worth nearly $9.59 billion were backing these ETFs as of March 8th.
The surge in institutional interest is also reflected in the steady rise in whale holdings.
According to data from Glassnode, entities holding at least 1k coins have increased by 6% year-to-date (YTD), contributing to Bitcoin’s price surge.
Data from Hyblock Capital shows that approximately 60% of all whale positions on Binance were long at the time of writing, indicating that most institutional investors expect Bitcoin’s spot price to continue to rise in the future.
