According to a report by the Financial Times, CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) is planning to launch bitcoin trading to expand its portfolio.
The newspaper, citing sources, said the exchange, headquartered in Chicago, has been talking with traders who want to buy and sell bitcoin on a regulated marketplace,
However, it was added that the plan has not yet been finalized.
Speaking to Investing.com following the report, analysts at Bitget Research noted that the CME has opened futures contract trading, and "the market demand for trading has been very strong, as evidenced by market validation."
"With a current CME contract position of 137,600 BTC, valued at around $9.1 billion, it has surpassed Binance to become the largest exchange in terms of contract holdings," the analysts stated.
They also highlighted that demand for spot trading is also robust, as is demand for futures contracts. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin's spot trading volume in the last 24 hours reached $42 billion.
"Given the scale of this trading volume, it's a normal business logic for CME to want to expand its product range and user base," the analysts said.