CME Group reported a sharp rise in cryptocurrency derivatives activity for April, with total notional volumes hitting $8.9 billion, fueled largely by a surge in ether futures trading.
The exchange’s average daily volume (ADV) for crypto derivatives reached 183,000 contracts, marking a 129% year-over-year increase—a strong signal of deepening institutional participation in the digital asset space.
Ether led the charge, with futures contracts on the asset seeing a 239% increase in daily volume to 14,000 contracts. Micro ether futures also gained traction, rising 165% to 63,000 contracts. Meanwhile, micro bitcoin futures posted a 115% jump, reaching 78,000 contracts in daily volume.
CME’s standard contracts offer larger exposure—representing 5 BTC or 50 ETH—while the micro contracts, set at 0.1 BTC or 0.1 ETH, provide flexibility for more granular trading and hedging strategies.
The boost in April follows a strong first quarter for the exchange’s crypto products, which saw record-setting volumes. In total, CME’s ADV across all asset classes hit 35.9 million contracts in April, up 36% from a year ago.
Despite leading in volume growth, ether’s market performance lagged. The asset rose just 1.1% over the past 30 days, trailing bitcoin’s 15.8% gain. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index, which tracks a broader basket of crypto assets, increased 12.1% over the same period.
