CME loses top spot to Binance in bitcoin futures open interest as institutional demand wanes
Binance has surpassed CME in bitcoin futures open interest due to the declining profitability of the basis trade.Summary
CME has lost its position as the leading exchange for bitcoin futures open interest (OI) to Binance, according to CoinGlass data. Binance now holds about 125,000 BTC in OI compared to CME's 123,000 BTC. This shift is primarily attributed to the sharp narrowing in the profitability of the basis trade—buying spot bitcoin while selling futures to capture the spread—which has seen the annualized basis rate compress from around 15% to roughly 5%. CME's OI has steadily fallen from 175,000 BTC at the start of the year as this institutional strategy became less rewarding. Conversely, Binance's OI has remained steady, favored by retail traders making directional bets. CME had held the top spot since November 2023, driven by institutional positioning ahead of the spot bitcoin ETF launches in January 2024.
(Source：CoinDesk)