Institutional Bitcoin Derivatives Demand Across CME, Deribit, and Perpetual Swaps
Summary
The report teaser examines institutional participation in Bitcoin futures, options, and perpetual swaps during 2023. It compares CME and Deribit through rolling futures basis and open interest, interpreting CME’s higher basis and growth in open interest as signs that some institutions value regulated venues and familiar brokerage access. It also explains how perpetual swap funding accumulates over time and how funding can diverge across venues or assets.
The discussion attributes some ETH perpetual funding differences to the convexity embedded in BitMEX’s Bitcoin-settled quanto contract, and describes how shifts in Bitcoin and Ethereum demand affected their relative funding. The evidence consists of selected market comparisons and historical episodes, rather than a systematic test of trading signals. The report is an introductory teaser, so its conclusions about institutional demand and asset behavior should be treated as interpretations; it does not establish that basis or funding patterns will persist or predict future returns.
Key ideas
- CME and Deribit showed correlated Bitcoin futures basis trends, while CME carried a higher annualized basis in the period discussed.
- The report interprets CME open interest growth as evidence of increasing institutional interest in regulated Bitcoin exposure.
- Perpetual swap funding is a floating carrying cost that can be assessed cumulatively across a holding period.
- Quanto contract settlement can embed convexity that contributes to funding differences between venues.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum funding can diverge as demand, volatility, and hedging activity shift.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.