Bitcoin’s price rose significantly in January. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, also hit record Bitcoin 

BTC

$23,041

 futures trading numbers in the same month. 

“In January, BTC average daily volume (ADV) reached a monthly record of 17,549 contracts (87.7K equivalent bitcoin),” a CME representative told Cointelegraph. Each CME Bitcoin futures contract is worth the value of 5 BTC paid out in dollars.

“In December 2020, BTC average daily volume (ADV) reached 11,179 contracts (55.9K equivalent bitcoin),” the representative added. “This represents a +57% increase.”

In January, Bitcoin rose from $30,000 up to almost $42,000, according to TradingView data. The month before, the asset had broken its longstanding record high of approximately $20,000, surging up to nearly $30,000 by the end of 2020.

“We are continuing to see robust interest in our Bitcoin futures contracts, with a record 528 accounts added in January, helping drive BTC average daily volume (ADV) to a monthly record of 17,549 contracts (87.7K equivalent bitcoin), up 63% YoY,” the CME representative said.

CME’s BTC futures trading product has gained a notable number of users since its inception in December 2017. “7,400+ unique, active accounts have traded since launch,” CME said in a recent report showing numbers up to Feb. 17. “Of those, 733 were added in 2021, 2.3x more than in 2020,” the report added.

Bitcoin recently dropped more than $13,000 from its last record high, although the asset has since regained some ground, trading at around $49,200 as of publication time.