PANews reported on October 28 that according to the Financial Times, cryptocurrency trading platforms are rapidly expanding into the derivatives sector, hoping that stricter regulation and the promise of high leverage returns will attract cautious investors to enter the market. The latest data from CCData shows that cryptocurrency derivatives trading has accounted for 71% of the total digital asset trading volume, and the total amount of open contracts has exceeded US$40 billion for the first time, showing the dominance of the derivatives market. Market leader CME Group has set new highs in trading volume and open positions this year, and has actively expanded its product line. The newly launched Bitcoin Friday futures contract specifically matches the New York trading cycle to further meet the needs of institutional investors.
The derivatives market is attracting a large number of new players. The Dutch cryptocurrency derivatives exchange D2X will launch operations in November, and London's One Trading and GFO-X are scheduled to open in early 2025. In addition, Kraken has set up a trading platform in Bermuda this month to compete directly with CME Group, Binance and Bybit. Jason Urban, global trading director of Galaxy Digital, pointed out that after the collapse of crypto lending institutions such as FTX, unsecured lending business has basically disappeared in the ecosystem, and investors have turned to the derivatives market for leverage opportunities.
