Bitcoin Open Interest on CME Returns to Pre-March Crash Levels

Bitcoin futures are roaring back after a significant drop in March. Last month, open interest fell after an historic sell-off where the entire cryptocurrency market dropped some 50% in a single day.

Open Interest Returns to Normal

Bitcoin futures exchanges are roaring back in a big way, indicating that the market may be showing some strength. As Unfolded (@cryptounfolded) recently covered, open interest is steadily rising and spiked yesterday. Open interest was rising rapidly in February before the COVID-19 panic rattled markets. As BeInCrypto reported, open interest began to rise mid-April and has continued to grow since then. The rebound seems to mirror the rise seen in mainstream U.S. financial markets. Volume for futures also rose this month, seeing the largest daily volume jump in weeks earlier in April.

A Shakeup in Bitcoin Futures Markets

The drastic sell-off in March reshuffled the market leaders for Bitcoin futures. As of now, Binance and Huobi lead the market in trading volume. BitMEX, once first, has now dropped to the fourth-largest in futures trading volume. Whether or not this shakeup will hold remains to be seen, but BitMEX’s reputation has suffered the most. The exchange was blamed for the crash on March 12; many users noticed that, after the exchange went down for maintenance, the historic sell-off ceased. At the time of writing, Bitcoin has maintained its position above the $7,700 price point and is relatively stable on the daily. Trading volume has stayed high compared to last year despite the market turbulence. However, traders should watch macroeconomic indicators to better gauge what the short-term holds. Many are still concerned that the global economy may not rebound as strongly as expected, although the IMF maintains that a ‘V-shaped recovery’ is still possible.