Bakkt, a crypto derivatives company run by the Intercontinental Exchange, announced that a record-high volume of Bakkt Bitcoin Futures were traded on Tuesday, September 15.

The 15,955 futures traded accounted for about $172 million in volume. Bakkt's previous record was 11,706 Bitcoin futures (roughly $125 million worth) on July 28. Today's high is a 36% improvement.

Bitcoin futures are agreements to sell or buy BTC at a point in the future for a specific price. Given Bitcoin's recent (some might say "constant") price fluctuations, putting money in futures contracts is a bit of a gamble.

CME v. Bakkt
CME volume (top) compared to Bakkt volume (bottom). Image: Skew

But it's one that Bakkt will be happy people are taking. In January, Bakkt went days at a time without seeing any Bitcoin options trading.

Despite the good news, Bakkt still comes in behind its main competitor, CME, which regularly does volume above Bakkt's record level. Today, it did $262 million in volume, a relatively small haul compared to the $1.1 billion it did on September 2.

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