Open Interest of Ether Options on CME Near Record Level

Open interest for ether options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in February has surpassed January’s figures and is on track to reach an all-time high. As of now, the open interest for February stands at $468 million, which is higher than January’s total of $385 million.

This recent surge in open interest is a sign of increased institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, which has been further evidenced by the significant increase in trading volume for bitcoin and ether futures on the CME in January.

This surge in activity coincides with the approval of multiple spot bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Analysts at Bitfinex believe that this increase in trading volume is a result of heightened institutional interest in cryptocurrency exposure. They noted that trading volumes on the CME saw a 35% surge in January, reaching a high of $94.9 billion, the highest since October 2021.