Open interest in Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) went up 30% on Tuesday, September 3, just a day after the asset price pumped during the CME’s closing on Labor Day.

According to Twitter account @skew_markets, this rise in interest follows a short dip over the past seven days or so, in which we saw open interest drop to around $186 million in contracts on August 28. Toward the end of Labor Day on September 2, this number went up to $249 million and carried over into the next day.

The CME was closed this Monday due to it being Labor Day, and Bitcoin’s price shot way up, moving from around $9,700 to about $10,400. This caused a significant gap in the CME charts, one that analyst Alex Krüger pointed out on Twitter.

It’s probable that this rise in open interest is a direct result of Bitcoin’s price increase, with institutional investors looking to get ahead of the game.

Related: Looking to buy and sell Bitcoin? Check out our guide on the best cryptocurrency exchanges for trading Bitcoins.

Overall, the CME has been having a fantastic 2019 in general, as you can see from the previous dates on the chart above. Ever since April of this year, Bitcoin’s price has gone up significantly. In fact, since June, the asset price is usually found sitting at or around the $10k mark. As of this writing, BTC/USD is at $10,612.

According to Forbes, the CME has recently put out record-setting numbers when it comes to cryptocurrency trading this year, with an average of 7,237 futures contracts every day. That’s a 132% rise from the year before.

However, as you may know, futures trading on the CME doesn’t have you purchasing actual Bitcoin. Rather you’re paying for the fiat equivalent of the asset. That said, Bakkt is coming out with its futures later this month, and they allow traders to buy daily and monthly futures settled in Bitcoin, unlike the CME.

What do you think about the current state of Bitcoin futures? Will Bakkt bring about a new era for the industry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images are courtesy of Twitter, Shutterstock, CoinMarketCap.