Both institutional and retail demand for BTC increased after the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.
This increased demand also mobilized the largest futures exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
According to the Financial Times, based on sources familiar with the matter, CME plans to offer spot Bitcoin trading to its customers in addition to its existing futures product, in response to increasing demand among market participants.
According to FT, the launch of spot trading of Bitcoin on CME will allow investors to make profits by taking advantage of the difference between futures prices and the spot price of the relevant asset.
If CME also launches Bitcoin spot trading as planned, CME would become another way for Wall Street giants to gain greater access to Bitcoin, in addition to the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved in the US in January.
In addition, analysts think that exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, which are leading spot trading, may lose business when CME launches spot Bitcoin trading.
At this point, 10X Research founder Markus Thielen said the following about CME's plans to offer spot Bitcoin trading:
“Since the current bull run is driven primarily by institutional investors who prefer to trade Bitcoin through regulated avenues, cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase may lose some business with the launch of spot Bitcoin trading on CME, a global derivatives giant.”
*This is not investment advice.