Open interest in CME futures is at its highest level since March 2022, indicating institutional investors are flocking to the cryptocurrency market.
Institutions Show Interest in Ethereum After Shapella Upgrade
Ethereum implemented the highly anticipated Shapella hard fork, also known as the Shanghai upgrade, on April 12, allowing locked coins to be withdrawn at will, reducing the risk of staking the blockchain's native token Ethereum (ETH).
This significant event has fueled institutional interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The number of active or open Ethereum futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) since April 10 rose 39% to 6,248, according to official data.
In US dollar terms, open interest increased by more than 70% to $633 million. That figure hit a 12-month high of $675 million on Friday, according to data from Coinglass.
Each contract is worth 50 ETH and is priced in US dollars per 1 Ethereum.
Institutions often opt for regulated products such as CME futures that allow them to invest in digital assets without owning them.
For this reason, CME futures tied to Ethereum and Bitcoin are widely accepted as indicators for institutional activity.
“CME’s market share has grown as institutions have to assess the underlying credit risk of their collateral on crypto local exchanges,” said Jeff Anderson, a crypto investor and former CIO of Folkvang Trading.
"The activity surrounding Shapeella demonstrated this with clear interest at a 12-month high."
*Not investment advice.
