Bakkt Bitcoin options go to zero as trading volume plummets

So much for all the Bakkt Bitcoin options hype.

To say that the institutional trading platform’s latest Bitcoin product isn’t doing so well would be an understatement—as trading volumes for options on Bitcoin futures contracts on Bakkt have effectively gone to zero.

The Bitcoin futures exchange, governed by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)—owners of the New York Stock Exchange, hasn’t seen any trading on Bitcoin options on its platform in the last 10 days, according to data from analytics firm Skew. ICE’s own website reports a big fat goose egg for options for January 20 through 24. The weekends don’t come into play, so the last activity registered took place on January 17, when 20 Bitcoin options changed hands.

By contrast, Chicago-based competitor CME Group has seen trading for its Bitcoin options humming along at a decent rate over the last two weeks. During its first week, trading volume for BTC options on CME exploded from 55 contracts (roughly $2.37 million in volume) on its first day to 120 ($5.25 million) by the end of the week.

Still, even interest in CME’s offerings appears to be waning. Last week, the exchange only registered a total of 59 trades on Bitcoin options for the entire week.

Tim McCourt, CME’s global head of equity index, told Decrypt last November that there had been a “high demand” for options products ever since the firm first launched Bitcoin futures in December 2017. And when Bitcoin options finally did launch on CME earlier this month, analysts from J.P. Morgan echoed the sentiment, telling Bloomberg that there was “high anticipation” from institutional investors.

So where has all that excitement gone?