Financial Times: Cryptocurrency trading platforms expand into derivatives to attract cautious investors

On October 28, according to a report in the Financial Times, cryptocurrency exchanges are rapidly expanding into the derivatives sector, hoping that stricter regulation and the promise of high leverage returns will attract cautious investors to the market.
According to the latest data, cryptocurrency derivatives trading has accounted for 71% of the total trading volume of digital assets, and the total amount of unpositioned squaring contracts has exceeded $40 billion for the first time, demonstrating the dominance of the derivatives market. Market leader CME Group has reached new highs in trading volume and unpositioned squaring positions this year, and has actively expanded its product line. The newly launched Bitcoin Friday futures contract is specifically designed to match the New York trading cycle, further meeting the needs of institutional investors.
The derivatives circuit is attracting a flood of new players. Dutch cryptocurrency derivatives exchange D2X is set to launch operations in November, while London-based One Trading and GFO-X are scheduled to open in early 2025. In addition, Kraken has set up a trading platform in Bermuda this month to compete directly with CME Group, Binance and Bybit.
Jason Urban, head of global trading at Galaxy Digital, pointed out that after the collapse of crypto lenders such as FTX, the unsecured lending business largely disappeared from the ecosystem, and investors turned to the derivatives market for leverage opportunities.