“For the First Time, CME Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Surpasses 215,000 BTC as the Cryptocurrency Eyes $100,000.”

Bitcoin (BTC) is on the verge of hitting a $2 trillion market cap, driven by a sharp $30,000 increase in its price since Donald Trump’s election victory earlier this month.

At a current market value of $1.93 trillion, bitcoin is nearing a milestone that would push its market cap above $2 trillion, with a price target of about $101,000 per bitcoin. The price of BTC surpassed $97,000 for the first time earlier this week, and its dominance in the market has reached nearly 61.8%.

Bitcoin futures open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has reached a new record of 218,000 BTC, worth approximately $21.3 billion, reflecting a 30% rise since the November 5 election. Rising open interest alongside higher prices is a strong indicator of growing bullish sentiment in the market.

Velte Lunde, head of research at K33, highlighted the record-setting CME open interest, noting that the increase over the past 15 days exceeds the annual average for CME open interest before 2022. “The growth in CME OI shows no signs of slowing down,” Lunde remarked, emphasizing that it is active market participants, rather than ETF inflows, that are driving the price increase.

Additionally, the launch of options tied to U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs is expected to further fuel the growth of CME futures.

The relationship between bitcoin and traditional finance systems has evolved, with analysts forecasting a continued decline in bitcoin’s volatility. Over recent years, the cryptocurrency’s realized volatility has dropped significantly, from over 100% to around 40%, according to Glassnode data.

CME’s increasing dominance in the futures open interest market, currently at 33%, is another sign of bitcoin’s growing integration with traditional finance. At the same time, the proportion of futures contracts using crypto collateral has reached an all-time low of 16%, which is expected to further reduce volatility in bitcoin’s price.