On Day 1 of trading, nominal value already exceeds CBOE
Volumes on both exchanges trading Bitcoin futures are low but it looks like the CME is going to be the winner as it takes on the CBOE.
The CBOE had a one-week head start but the CME is a more-popular futures exchange.
Here are the volumes today:
That looks like a win for the CBOE but there's more below the surface.
The most-important thing to note is that a CBOE futures contract is for one single Bitcoin. The CME contract is for five. So in notional terms, 5125 Bitcoins traded at the CME today, compared to 3751 at the CBOE.
The other thing to note is transaction costs. The bid-ask at the CME at both ranges from $20-$40. If anything, the CBOE might have a slight advantage here but it's close.
My guess is that the CME is well on its way to winning this battle.
What I worry about is the 20% daily limit at the CME. Once that's hit (and it inevitably will be), then the CBOE contract may begin to look more attractive.
