Bitcoin’s record highs push big banks’ profits to billions — Report
2024-11-14

Wall Street banks are sitting on post-election gains worth $1.4 billion as Bitcoin prices soared, according to estimates from Forbes. 
Big banks reportedly piled into Bitcoin BTCUSD futures contracts in the weeks before the presidential election, amassing a total of 10,564 new contracts, equal to 52,820 BTC. The analysis is based on data from the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) released on Nov. 5.
Bitcoin futures contracts are financial derivatives products that allow traders to speculate on the cryptocurrency’s future price without actually owning it. While most United States banks are not allowed to hold Bitcoin directly, they can get exposure to its price fluctuations through derivatives and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Long positions from banks’ brokerage units amounted to $3 billion at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), with an average purchase price of $65,800. Forbes estimates that Bitcoin’s 22% jump since Nov. 6 has netted paper gains of about $1.4 billion. 
Related: Bitcoin open interest tops chart after hitting $75K ‘sweet spot’ 
Banks’ open interest jumped by $3.5 billion between Oct. 8 - 15 from 1,200 BTC futures contracts (worth $373 million) to 11,766 contracts (worth $3,8 million). The held position is estimated to be worth around $5.3 billion at BTC current prices, giving banks gains of nearly 36% in less than a month. Some financial institutions operating on crypto derivatives markets include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and SG Americas Securities.
Bitcoin’s recent surge is largely attributed to Donald Trump’s reelection on Nov. 6, as crypto markets anticipate federal agencies to take a more cooperative approach under the new administration. 
Shares of publicly traded crypto companies have also soared over the past few days. On Nov. 11, Coinbase’s stock (COIN) jumped more than 20%, reaching the $300 mark for the first time since 2021.
According to data from CoinGecko, cryptocurrencies’ market capitalization is at $3.17 trillion on Nov. 13, up 119% from last November.