Based on the first trading session, Ethereum futures volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) stood at 338 contracts. That represented more than $30 million with ETH trading at around $1,780 at the time of writing.
Open interest in the new product stands at 228 contracts ($20.2 million). One contract is equivalent to 50 ETH.
“The reaction to Ethereum was staggering,” said Tim McCourt, managing director of CME Group.
In the run-up to launch of new CME futures, some market participants predicted downward pressure on Ethereum’s price and a reversal of the trend, as with Bitcoin-based products and the price of the cryptocurrency in late 2017.
Ethereum CME futures start trading tomorrow. $ETH pic.twitter.com/WOocvbdfAQ
— Crypto Whale (@CryptoWhale) February 7, 2021
However, the second-largest cryptocurrency continued to rise and, in less than 24 hours, set a new price high at around $1,800.
Four-hour ETH/USD chart from Bitstamp on TradingView.
In a new CoinShares report, the volume of investments in Ethereum-based products over the past week totaled $245 million.
“Investors are seeking opportunities to diversify asset holdings and are becoming increasingly favourable toward Ethereum’s fundamental characteristics,” the experts noted.
Ethereum’s market capitalization surpassed $200 billion, according to CoinGecko.
On December 28, bitcoin futures trading on CME was suspended due to a gap of more than $3,000.
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