CME Bitcoin futures activity fell to a 14-month low, with institutional demand cooling significantly.

CoinFeed reported on April 11th that, according to The Block, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures market continues to weaken. Data shows that the average daily open interest (OI) in March 2026 had fallen below $8 billion, and further decreased to approximately $7.2 billion in early April, a new low since February 2024, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. Meanwhile, monthly trading volume in March fell to $163 billion, nearly halved from the peak in January 2025. Market analysis points out that this decline is mainly due to the large-scale unwinding of "basis trades." Previously, institutions profited from the price difference by buying spot ETFs and shorting CME futures, which was the core driver of CME open interest growth. However, as the price of Bitcoin fell from a high of $120,000 to below $70,000, annualized basis profits were significantly compressed.