Goldman Sachs popped out a report last week in which they argued that 2023 was the year the cryptocurrency markets evolved further and were adopted by institutions:

• “The institutionalization of the market was most evident in the derivatives market”, with the growth of trading interest and volumes on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
• “CME saw a consistent increase in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures and options trading, and in Q4 has become the top BTC futures exchange by open interest.”

This, says GS, is a marked change from previously, when cryptocurrency markets were dominated by unregulated trading venues and retail investor activity.

On price activity, GS noted a flat first nine months of 2023 but a surge in activity and price action driven by institutional investors positioning for a potential spot BTC ETF approval. Flows were notable into existing exchange-traded products (ETPs) and futures ETFs.

***

I think GS missed this as a big impact also, which buibbled away in the background from about mid-year: