Macro update: Signs of steady institutional buying of Bitcoin

While Bitcoin continues to hover just below $4,000, the underlying macro picture is showing signs of steady, and growing interest from institutional investors starting to work its way through the data.

Yesterday, CME Bitcoin futures set a new record for volume traded in a single day with over 18,300 contracts traded, equivalent to ~91,690 BTC or ~$360 million in notional value (1 BTC contract = 5 BTC). The volume was 25% greater than the prior daily volume record set in November. It's not just daily one off volume that's trending up either, as 1Q19 through 2 months is running at a 40% Y/Y clip and is on track to be the highest CME bitcoin futures volume quarter since the product launched at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, the firm as seen over +2100 unique accounts from 30 different firms trade the product, with +40 different accounts holding more than 25 BTC contracts since November.