The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a regulated entity, recently emerged as the foremost exchange for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) futures, surpassing Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) for the first time in two years.

This shift is particularly noteworthy as the cryptocurrency sector continues to evolve, a topic that will be among the many points of interest at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14.

According to CoinGlass data, CME now leads in both futures and perpetual futures exchanges, boasting an open interest (OI) of approximately $4.07 billion, Coindesk reported.

This figure, up by 4% in the past day, gives CME a 24.7% share in the market.

In contrast, Binance's OI fell to $3.8 billion, a decrease of 7.8%.

Unlike Binance, which offers conventional futures and perpetual contracts, CME specializes in traditional futures with set expiration dates.

The shift in rankings came amid significant volatility in the crypto market, including a substantial leverage clear-out.

This turbulence led to a $2 billion reduction in the aggregate Bitcoin open interest from an initial $12 billion, disproportionately affecting Binance traders compared to those at CME.

This market activity coincided with Bitcoin's surge to an 18-month high near $38,000, followed by a slight retracement.

The movement was linked to the revelation of a Delaware-registered corporate entity, "iShares Ethereum Trust," reminiscent of BlackRock’s earlier move before filing for a spot BTC ETF in June, CoinDesk reported.

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CME's ascendancy in 2023 has been gradual but marked, underscoring the growing institutional interest in trading Bitcoin.

A 2020 report by Bitwise Asset Management indicated that CME's Bitcoin futures market has a significant influence over the spot market.

David Lawant, head of research at FalconX, told CoinDesk, "The CME has been gaining market share for almost all of 2023, but these gains intensified over the past few weeks as market excitement around the BTC spot ETF applications soared."

He also highlighted that CME's user base, predominantly large traditional financial institutions, reflects the growing institutional enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies.

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