New CME Bitcoin Options Spark ‘Unusually Strong Activity’ — JPMorgan

The United States’ largest bank believes interest will be high in CME Group’s new Bitcoin (BTC) options when they launch on Jan. 13. 

In a note from Jan. 10 quoted by Bloomberg on Friday, a group of analysts at JPMorgan Chase led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou noted interest in CME’s existing Bitcoin futures had spiked in the run-up to the release.

“High anticipation” of Bitcoin options

On the shift in investor behavior, JPMorgan summarized:

“This unusually strong activity over the past few days likely reflects the high anticipation among market participants of the option contract.”

The events mark a contrast to the December launch of options from CME competitor, Bakkt, the analysts added, with volumes for that product staying “rather small.”

Overall, interest in Bitcoin futures has traditionally taken a long period to gather momentum. As Cointelegraph noted, Bakkt’s own launch in September mirrored CME’s debut in December 2017, both preceding an extended period of…