Crypto derivatives, such as options and futures, have experienced a significant increase in daily trading volumes this week, reaching record highs on various exchanges.
Deribit, a popular crypto derivatives exchange, announced on February 29 that its 24-hour trading volume had reached an all-time high of $12.4 billion. The platform also reported that its open interest, which refers to the number of derivatives contracts awaiting closure or settlement, had surpassed $29 billion, another record-breaking figure. Additionally, Deribit noted that its client assets had reached $4 billion.
Coinbase Institutional, a regulated futures exchange in the United States, revealed that it had achieved its second-best day on March 1, with $380 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) contracts traded. This milestone was achieved by a record-breaking 850 unique end-users.
The Greeks Live, a professional options trader’s tooling platform, also experienced a historic moment with a 24-hour high options trading volume of $620 million.
According to Greeks Live, the spot bull market for Bitcoin was driven by U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw record volumes as the price of Bitcoin surged to $64,000. However, the platform mentioned that options volume positions were growing at a modest pace and emphasized the overall health of the market structure due to solid inflows.
Every Friday is crypto options expiry day, and Deribit reported that approximately 32,000 BTC options with a notional value of $1.9 billion were set to expire on March 1. Additionally, around 235,000 ETH options contracts with a notional value of $793 million were also expiring.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs also had a strong week, with multiple days of record trading volumes exceeding $2 billion.
However, there was a significant outflow of nearly $600 million from Grayscale’s ETF on February 29, leading to a drop in net inflows for all ten ETFs to $93.8 million, the lowest level since February 6, according to preliminary data from Farside Investors. On the other hand, BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund saw net inflows of $604 million on February 29, surpassing Grayscale’s net outflows and outperforming all other ETFs combined in terms of daily inflows.
In conclusion, the surge in trading volumes for crypto derivatives, along with the performance of Bitcoin ETFs and the expiration of options contracts, has shaped the current landscape of the cryptocurrency market.