Bitcoin to $66,000 – Is this why CME Group is planning to launch BTC trading?

• CME’s Bitcoin trading plan signals Wall Street’s acceptance of crypto
• Surge in institutional investments highlights Bitcoin’s mainstream growth

It has been a good day for Bitcoin [BTC] after the cryptocurrency climbed as high as $66,333 on the charts after weeks of trading between $58k and $63k. In fact, at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was up by 5.78% in the last 24 hours alone.

That’s not all as according to TradingView, Bitcoin currently accounts for approximately 56% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.

Source: TradingView

CME Group turns to Bitcoin 

In response to the hike in Bitcoin’s dominance, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, the world’s largest Futures exchange, may soon reveal its plans to launch Bitcoin trading.

This move will be part of the firm’s strategy to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency sector and capitalize on the increasing demand from Wall Street money managers in 2024.

This is a welcome development for many in the crypto-space, with Alessandro Ottaviani, Co-Host @StoreofBitcoin, claiming,

“The ‘bending the knee to Bitcoin’ process is continuing.”

How can CME benefit from this move? 

Though the plans are still uncertain, CME Group’s initiative to introduce spot Bitcoin trading marks a pivotal step for Wall Street’s involvement in the cryptocurrency space. Coupled with the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs, it all signals growing regulatory acceptance.

Interestingly, with this move, CME could streamline basis trades by integrating spot Bitcoin trading with its established Bitcoin Futures market. This strategic move would enhance trading efficiency and reinforce the CME’s position in the cryptocurrency market.

This update comes within days of Michael Saylor, former CEO of MicroStrategy, commenting,

“There are thousands of pension funds in the United States managing ~$27 trillion in assets. They are all going to need some #Bitcoin.”

It also underlines Bitcoin’s evolving role from a niche digital asset to a mainstream financial instrument with significant institutional and regulatory support.

Not everyone is happy!

That being said, there are others who feel otherwise too. According to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, for instance,

“Crypto exchanges might lose some business with the potential debut of a bitcoin spot market on the CME, a global derivatives giant, as the present bull run is particularly driven by institutions, who prefer to trade on regulated avenues.”

If this were true, however, then major hedge funds like Bracebridge Capital and pension funds such as the Wisconsin Investment Board wouldn’t have contributed over $10 billion into investment vehicles managed by firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Ark.

The future looks bright though 

Hence, despite BTC falling by over 20% from its March peak of over $73,000, Bitcoin ETFs have rapidly become the fastest-growing ETFs in history.

Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, put it best when he said,

“Bitcoin is a great potential, long-term store of value.”