CME has been overtaken by Binance as the largest exchange for bitcoin (BTC $87,886.25) futures open interest (OI), according to CoinGlass data. Binance now holds about 125,000 BTC ($11.2 billion in notional value), slightly ahead of CME’s 123,000 BTC ($11 billion).
The shift comes amid a sharp decline in the profitability of the basis trade, where traders buy spot bitcoin while selling futures to capture the price premium. CME’s OI started the year at 175,000 BTC but has steadily dropped as returns from this strategy diminished. Meanwhile, Binance’s OI has remained steady, supported by retail traders favoring directional bets.
A little over a year ago, CME’s OI hit a record 200,000 BTC during a bitcoin rally toward $100,000, with the annualized basis rate peaking near 15%. Today, that rate has compressed to roughly 5%, according to Velo data, reflecting shrinking returns for institutional basis traders.
As spot and futures prices converge and market efficiency improves, arbitrage opportunities continue to narrow. CME had held the lead in bitcoin futures OI since November 2023, driven by institutional positioning ahead of spot bitcoin ETFs launching in January 2024, but that advantage has now faded.
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