According to data from the CME Group CME -1.5%, the world’s largest futures and options exchange, bitcoin futures open interest—expressed in contract terms—grew by at least 100% for eight months in a row continuing through in February 2021. Furthermore, the capital tied up in these contracts grew at an exponential 1,405% annual rate from $156 million at the end of February 2020 to $2.34 billion a year later. This kind of growth is more than three times the heady 425% increase in bitcoin’s price over the last year and a further representation of the unprecedented level of demand for exposure to the asset class among institutional investors.

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