Who's buying and selling bitcoin futures? An analysis of the CFTC COT report

Fresh off CME Group's announcement last week that its bitcoin futures product in May had its best month since the product first launched in late 2017 (record levels in both open interest and volume), we decided to analyze the CFTC's Commitment of Traders (COT) report to unpack who is driving the growth in open interest, and compare how traders are currently positioning themselves (long/short) relative to historical net exposure.

The Commitment of Traders Report is a detailed public report that provides a breakdown of each Tuesday's open interest on futures markets that have 20 or more traders that hold positions at or above reporting levels. The report is published by the CFTC every Friday, and submits the final numbers from the prior Tuesday's trading close.