Bitcoin is cooling off from its historic run above $20,000, but the broader cryptocurrency market is anything but quiet. As the world’s largest futures exchange, CME Group, completed its first full day of Bitcoin futures trading on December 18, the cryptocurrency market capitalization surged past $600 billion for the first time ever. While Bitcoin consolidated, altcoins staged a remarkable rally that reshaped the leaderboard.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $20,089 before pulling back to the $17,776 range on December 19, a decline of roughly 3%
- CME Group launched Bitcoin futures on December 17, with January contracts opening at $20,650
- Total crypto market cap surpassed $600 billion, jumping from $500 billion in just five days
- Altcoins exploded: Cardano up 400% in December, Litecoin up 220%, Ripple up 200%
- Ethereum held strong at $826, while Bitcoin Cash surged 28.7% to $2,805
- Kraken recorded $646 million in daily trading volume — an all-time high
CME Futures: Wall Street’s Bitcoin Gateway Opens
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange made financial history on Sunday, December 17, when it launched its Bitcoin futures contracts. The January 2018 contract opened at $20,650 — a significant premium to the spot price — and saw 847 trades by the end of its first day. February, March, and June contracts also opened above $20,000, reflecting strong institutional demand for exposure to Bitcoin price movements.
The launch came just one week after rival exchange CBOE debuted its own Bitcoin futures on December 10, which was so popular it crashed the exchange’s website with over 800 trades in the opening hours. Both launches were approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), signaling a new era of regulatory acceptance for cryptocurrency derivatives in the United States.
Notably, these futures contracts track Bitcoin’s price from an index drawing from multiple exchanges but do not involve actual Bitcoin. The value comes purely from price movements, making them a vehicle for speculation and hedging rather than direct investment in the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Consolidates After Historic Run
After touching its all-time high of $20,089, Bitcoin entered a consolidation phase. According to CoinMarketCap data for December 19, BTC was trading at $17,776.66, down approximately 3.08% on the day. On the Kraken exchange, Bitcoin was quoted at $17,839 with $177 million in 24-hour volume — an all-time high for the platform.
The pullback from $20,000 appears largely driven by profit-taking after a parabolic December run. Bitcoin started the month below $11,000, meaning it had nearly doubled in less than three weeks. The CME futures opening at a premium to spot prices suggests institutional traders remain bullish on the medium-term outlook, even as short-term traders lock in gains.
Altcoin Season Erupts
While Bitcoin caught its breath, the altcoin market exploded. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization crossed the $600 billion threshold on December 18, having jumped from $500 billion in just five days. The speed of this expansion is remarkable and underscores how capital is flowing across the entire crypto ecosystem, not just into Bitcoin.
Among the standout performers in December:
- Cardano (ADA) surged 400% for the month, trading at $0.531 with a market cap of $13.7 billion on December 19
- Litecoin (LTC) climbed 220% in December, reaching $350.25 with a $19 billion market cap
- Ripple (XRP) gained 200% in December, trading at $0.79 with a $30.6 billion market cap
- Tron (TRX) skyrocketed 2,000% from its early December price, making it one of the most explosive moves of the year
- Stellar Lumens (XLM) moved from $0.07 to $0.29 over the course of December, climbing to the top 15 on CoinMarketCap
In the 24 hours leading into December 19, six of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization hit new all-time highs: Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Cardano, NEM, Monero, and Litecoin.
Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash Lead the Charge
Ethereum held its ground firmly at $826.82, with a market capitalization of $79.7 billion. On Kraken, ETH was up 8.78% on the day with $156 million in volume — another all-time high. The Ethereum network continues to benefit from the ICO boom and growing DeFi activity, both of which drive demand for ETH as a utility token.
Bitcoin Cash was the standout among major altcoins, surging 28.7% on Kraken to $2,696 and trading at $2,805 on CoinMarketCap with a market cap of $47.3 billion. BCH has benefited from its positioning as a faster, lower-fee alternative to Bitcoin during a period of network congestion and high transaction costs on the BTC chain.
Record Volumes Signal Maturing Market
Kraken’s $646 million in total daily volume on December 19 represents an extraordinary milestone for the cryptocurrency exchange industry. To put this in perspective, the platform saw more trading activity in a single day than many traditional stock exchanges process. Bitcoin alone accounted for $177 million of this volume, with Ethereum adding another $156 million.
The altcoin market also contributed significantly to the volume surge, with Bitcoin Cash ($81.6 million), XRP ($52.5 million), and Litecoin ($50.4 million) each posting record or near-record trading activity on Kraken.
Why This Matters
The events of December 19, 2017 represent a turning point for cryptocurrency. The launch of CME futures has opened the door for institutional capital to flow into Bitcoin in a regulated, familiar format. Meanwhile, the altcoin rally demonstrates that investor interest extends far beyond Bitcoin — the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented demand.
However, the speed of this rally warrants caution. A market that adds $100 billion in capitalization in five days is operating at a pace that has historically been followed by sharp corrections. Whether this momentum continues into 2018 or marks the peak of the 2017 crypto bubble remains to be seen.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Kraken doing 646M on a single day in 2017 was insane. Binance does that in an hour now but back then it was front page Bloomberg material
BCH surging 28.7% to $2,805 in the shadow of ADA and XRP pumps shows how insane the rotation was. everything got its turn
cardano up 400% in december 2017 while btc dipped. classic altseason behavior
cardano had zero working product at that point. 400% on a whitepaper and a dream. 2017 was completely lawless
lawless_ era ADA pumped 400% with literally zero mainnet. charles was giving youtube lectures while the chain was a testnet. 2017 was pure entertainment
litecoin 220% and ripple 200% too. the 2017 alt pump was absolutely unhinged
LTC at 220% with 2.5 min blocks. people thought faster bitcoin = better bitcoin. took years for the market to realize that was wrong
ADA at 400% in one month and then proceeds to crash 95% over the next year. altseason rewards the fast and punishes the slow
ADA at 400% then 95% down. this is why you take profits during altseason. nobody ever went broke selling too early
ADA 400% in december then -95% the next year. charles hoskinson was on youtube saying we just getting started the whole way down lol
crypto market cap going from $500b to $600b in five days. thats a $100b move in less than a week
$100B in 5 days and that was considered insane. now we see that kind of move in a week on meme coins alone
krakens $646M daily volume record at the same time. retail was absolutely fomoing into every exchange that would take their money
CME futures opening at $20,650 when spot was below $19K. that premium was pure institutional FOMO and it faded within days
Marco T. that 20650 futures premium evaporated in what, 3 days? classic smart money shorting retail euphoria through regulated venues
ripple 200% in december 2017 on literally no product updates. just exchange listings and a banks-will-use-XRP fantasy that never materialized
CME opening at 20650 with spot below 19K was the most obvious short signal in crypto history. institutional traders ate that premium alive
jan_is_klaas the spot-futures basis was basically free money for anyone with access to both venues. retail bought the futures thinking it was bullish while institutions shorted into their faces
cme_arb_ the basis trade was literally free money for institutions. CME futures opened at 20,650 while spot was below 20k. retail thought the premium was bullish, institutions were shorting into their bids
cme_arb_ the spot futures basis being free money for institutions while retail bought the futures thinking it was bullish. classic wall street vs main street
jan_is_klaas the CME premium was a free short for anyone with spot access. institutional arb desks made millions while retail bought the top
lawless_era ADA at 400% with zero working product was peak 2017. Cardano had a 30B mcap and the Shelley upgrade was still 2 years away. pure speculation on peer review
CME opened at 20650 with spot under 19K. that premium was a free short for anyone with exchange access. retail bought the top thinking it was bullish
ADA pumped 400 percent with no mainnet. Cardano had a 30B mcap and Shelley was 2 years away. 2017 was pure speculation dressed as fundamentals
ADA 400% with zero working product. 2017 was the most lawless market in crypto history and we will never see anything like it again