CME Group has booked the first trades in its new Bitcoin Volatility Index futures, handing institutions a regulated way to take a position on how violently Bitcoin will move rather than which direction it heads. The opening trades, executed on June 5 as block transactions between crypto trading firm DV Chain and asset manager Monarq Asset Management, arrive as funds and brokers press for instruments that isolate volatility from price. CME launched 24/7 trading across its crypto futures and options on May 29, and the new contracts sit inside that always-on framework, letting investors manage volatility exposure at any hour of any day.

The contracts went live in the middle of a sharp pullback, with Bitcoin sliding below $59,200 on June 5 as leveraged long positions unwound across the market, the kind of move the new product is built to hedge. The launch responds to a demand CME has flagged for months—clients want to hedge turbulence directly instead of layering directional futures and spot holdings to approximate the same protection.

DV Chain and Monarq Open a Direction-Neutral Market

Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, said the early backing for the contracts reflects growing client demand for tools that guard against adverse market moves, and he argued that the round-the-clock framework widens their use by letting investors isolate and manage portfolio volatility risk at any hour.

Monarq CEO Shiliang Tang cast the launch as the kind of instrument a maturing asset class pulls in behind it, with sophisticated risk-management tools arriving as Bitcoin settles into mainstream institutional portfolios. DV Chain CEO and Head Trader Dave Vizsoly pointed to the regulated venue as the differentiator for institutional desks.

“As institutions increasingly seek advanced strategies to navigate today’s markets, the ability to trade pure volatility independent of price direction on a regulated platform is a critical evolution for both our clients and the broader marketplace,” Vizsoly said.

CME Crypto Volumes Climb Behind the Launch

CME’s cryptocurrency suite has grown into the volatility product  with it average daily volume reaching 266,900 contracts year-to-date, up 38% year-over-year, while average daily open interest stood at 274,500 contracts, up 18% over the same span. The exchange’s suite now covers more than 75% of total cryptocurrency market capitalization, with average daily open interest near $25 billion in 2025.

The May 29 move to round-the-clock trading closed the gap between CME’s regulated contracts and the spot markets that never stop, a mismatch that had left institutions unable to adjust hedges outside business hours. That first 24/7 crypto weekend drew 7,200 contracts and roughly $50 million in notional volume, an early read on weekend appetite for regulated exposure.