CME Group’s Crypto Derivatives Market Sees Increase in Trading Activities

The broader crypto market rebound has trickled to the derivative niche as the CME Group cryptocurrency derivatives market records increased trading volume. In April, CME Group crypto derivatives volume soared by a steep 129% compared to the same month in 2024. 

Details of CME Group And Micro Contracts Performance 

This surge hit a new Average Daily Volume (ADV) of 183,000 contracts. According to the firm’s report, the ADV rounded to $8.9 billion in notional terms. 

This development reflects the growing institutional interest in the crypto industry. Interestingly, the growth was led by Ethereum, with CME’s Ether futures ADV hitting 14,000 contracts, marking a 239% surge.

CME Group’s crypto derivatives volume soared 129% in April, with average daily volume (ADV) reaching 183,000 contracts and total contract volume equivalent to $8.9 billion. Ethereum futures led the charge, with ADV increasing 239% to 500, and micro Ethereum futures increasing…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 3, 2025

Similarly, micro Ethereum futures registered a 165% increase, reaching 63,000 contracts. Micro Bitcoin futures saw a minor increase compared to their Ethereum counterpart. Precisely, its 78,000 contracts marked a 115% increase. Micro agreements have proven to offer better precision trading than CME’s contracts.

The future contracts of CME Group Bitcoin and Ethereum have a larger notional value of 5 BTC and 50 ETH, respectively. 

Ethereum Price and Performance 

Meanwhile, Ethereum has been underperforming for quite some time, reeling in losses. Within 30 days, it has only registered a 1.1% growth. Per CoinMarketCap data, the second-largest cryptocurrency traded at $1,838.87 following a 0.10% increase. With this performance, several other altcoins have successfully outpaced Ethereum. 

TheCoinrise reported that Solana (SOL) is finally overtaking Ethereum regarding speed, innovation, and market momentum. Analysts have become attracted to Solana’s performance. 

Catalysts to Ethereum Price Boost

Still, there are expectations of some changes in the Ethereum ecosystem, that Ethereum could soon see a major boost in its transaction capacity. However, it is tied to the approval of a new proposal from Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist. This researcher first introduced EIP-9698 on April 27. 

The plan theoretically allows Ethereum to handle up to 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). Notably, it currently handles 20 TPS during simple transaction-heavy periods. Also, the Pectra Upgrade is scheduled to take place on May 7. This particular upgrade will improve the Ethereum ecosystem.