CME Group's Bitcoin Futures Market Opens With $4,845 Gap

CME Group's bitcoin futures market opened on Monday with a gap of $4,845, the largest to date. The CME's historic opening came after Sunday's massive selloff, which was likely triggered by a dubious headline that the US Treasury would take harsh action against financial institutions involved in cryptocurrency money laundering. In addition, bitcoin hash rates recently dropped 45 percent due to power outages in China's Xinjiang region.

CME launched its bitcoin cash-settled futures in December 2017, which coincided with the peak of the previous bull run. Its closest competitor, Cboe, now also hopes to return to the market after slowing down its pioneering crypto product in March 2019.

In January of this year, CME managed to bring cryptocurrency exchanges into its territory, becoming the largest place to trade bitcoin futures. After yesterday's fall to $51,541 on Bitstamp, the leading cryptocurrency has since recovered to $56,381.

Image: Blockchain Journal