Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have hit a new record in trading volume, reaching nearly $2 billion in a day.

Circle, the issuer behind the second-largest stablecoin USDC, has revealed it’s dropping support for the token on the TRON blockchain effectively immediately amid efforts “to ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent and safe.”

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is looking to launch euro-denominated micro Bitcoin and Ether futures on March 18, with the move – which will expand CME’s cryptocurrency derivatives offerings - pending regulatory approval.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs’ Trading Volumes Surge
• Circle to Drop Support for USDC on TRON
• CME to Launch Euro-Denominated Micro Bitcoin and Ether Futures
• Chart of the Week: Month-to-Date Returns of Popular AI Coins

Spot Bitcoin ETFs’ Trading Volumes Surge

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have hit a new record in trading volume, reaching nearly $2 billion in a day.

This surge in activity is highlighted by significant volumes in specific ETFs: VanEck's HODL ETF approached $400 million, WisdomTree's Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) recorded $221.9 million in trades, while Bitwise’s fund saw $178.29 million.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, pointed out that the performance of VanEck's HODL ETF experienced a 14-fold increase to $258 million in a single day, distributed across 32,000 individual trades—a 60-fold jump over its daily average.

This spike in trading volume may be attributed to the U.S. markets being closed for Presidents' Day, causing trades over the weekend to be settled on the subsequent workday.

Circle to Drop Support for USDC on TRON

Circle, the issuer behind the second-largest stablecoin USDC, has revealed it’s dropping support for the token on the TRON blockchain effectively immediately amid efforts “to ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent and safe.”

In an announcement, Circle detailed that it will stop minting USDC on TRON immediately, and will gradually phase out support for the network while allowing Circle Mint business customers’ transfers from TRON to other networks.

The announcement details that through February 2024 these transactions will be supported, and that Circle Mint customers will also be able to redeem the stablecoin for fiat currency directly with Circle.

Circle shared that retail users holding USDC on TRON would be able to transfer the funds to an exchange, or other platforms that support transferring USDC to other blockchains. Circle did not detail why it’s dropping support on TRON.

CME to Launch Euro-Denominated Micro Bitcoin and Ether Futures

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is looking to launch euro-denominated micro Bitcoin and Ether futures on March 18, with the move – which will expand CME’s cryptocurrency derivatives offerings - pending regulatory approval.

The CME launched U.S. dollar-denominated micro BTC futures in May 2021 and micro ETH futures in December 2021. Additionally, the exchange launched euro-denominated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts in August 2022 and offers options products for both cryptocurrencies.

The new micro futures contracts will be one-tenth the size of their respective cryptocurrencies, offering a more affordable option for gaining exposure to these digital assets.

Since its debut in the cryptocurrency derivatives market with the launch of a Bitcoin futures product on December 17, 2017, shortly after Cboe entered the cryptocurrency derivatives market as well, CME has established itself as a leading platform in the crypto derivatives space.

Chart of the Week: Month-to-Date Returns of Popular AI Coins

AI tokens have experienced a significant surge following OpenAI's launch of a text-to-video feature and plans to raise $7 trillion in capital, aiming to transform the semiconductor industry.

TAO has taken the lead with a 36.8% increase to $640. Other cryptocurrencies, including AGIX, FET, and NMR, have also seen substantial gains, rising 92.6%, 61.6%, and 63.1%, respectively.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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