Crypto Derivatives Hit a New Record in Volume

The volumes for all crypto derivatives reached $602 billion in May.

The trading volume of crypto derivatives surged to a new all-time highs as institutional options also reached record levels this May.

The latest review of crypto data provider CryptoCompare revealed that the volume of cryptocurrency derivatives across all platforms lifted last month. The volumes for all crypto derivatives increased by 32% in May and reached a new all-time high of $602 billion. The previous record of $600 billion was last seen in March 2020.

The cryptocurrency exchanges were among the main volume generators here, including Huobi, OKEx, and Binance. Huobi alone traded $176 billion, which marks 29% growth compared to April. In the meantime, OKEx processed $152 billion volume (33% growth) and Binance $139 billion. The latter exchange even recorded a 58% volume growth since April.

Options give the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell assets at a specific price on or before a certain date. They are one of the largest groups of contracts on a derivatives market, which is currently on the rise. The total derivatives in the 2020 first quarter alone surpassed $2 trillion and increased over 310% times compared to the average of 2019 Q4.

Option volumes spiked

Furthermore, the institutional options volumes hit record levels in May as well. According to the data of CryptoCompare, the derivatives exchange Deribit witnessed a record of $196 million trade a day before Bitcoin halved on May 11. Compared to the previous month, the exchange also doubled the number of options trades, which exceeded $3 billion in May.

At the same time, the institutional exchange for the trading of futures and options Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) processed 16 times a bigger volume of total option trades in comparison to the data of April. Since the spike was significant during the Bitcoin halving day, the number of crypto option contracts peaked on May 28 as well. According to the report:

In terms of total trading volume in May, CME’s volumes have increased by 59% to reach $7.2bn. This is a greater increase than any other derivatives exchange in May.

Institutional interest grows

Derivatives are the riskier financial instrument compared to the spot trades. Since they require deeper knowledge and a professional approach, derivatives are mainly traded by institutional investors. As a result, the growing number of such contracts contributes to the maturing of the cryptocurrency itself.

Despite the record trades, the general institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is growing as well. Traditional banks are turning towards cryptocurrencies and adding crypto trading and custody services as an option. Meanwhile, the large crypto investors are taking solid amounts of digital coins off the market. As was previously reported, the crypto management company Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) acquired around one-third of newly mined Bitcoins since its third halving.

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This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Milko Trajcevski

Milko Trajcevski is a DailyCoin news reporter, mainly focused on Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and their founders (Vitalik Buterin and Charles Hoskinson). Milko is an avid follower of crypto and blockchain technology and has written thousands of articles on the subjects. He finds joy in transforming complex issues into written content that anyone can understand. Milko has used and analyzed numerous exchanges, such as Coinbase, FTX, and Binance. He also closely follows all of the latest news around the largest decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Location: Skopje, Macedonia