The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has dropped hints that it might roll out futures contracts for Solana and XRP as soon as February 10, pending some regulatory green lights.
This could be a game changer for retail and institutional traders.
A massive market
Just to put things into perspective, the CME reported that 29.4 million crypto futures contracts were traded in 2024, racking up over $1.7 trillion in notional value. That’s a lotta volumen.
The CME’s website initially showcased details about the upcoming contracts before mysteriously pulling the page down.
But here’s what we know, both SOL and XRP will have standard and micro-sized contracts available.
The standard SOL contract will be based on 500 SOL, while the micro version will account for 25 SOL. For XRP, it’s even larger, 50,000 XRP for the standard contract and 2,500 XRP for the micro, all will settle in USD.
ETF applications everywhere
The thing is, the hype around crypto futures isn’t just about Solana and XRP, but following Donald Trump’s reelection and Gary Gensler stepping down as head of the SEC, there’s been an actual jump in applications for crypto ETFs.
Financial firms are scrambling to get their products on the market, hoping for a more favorable regulatory environment.
Asset manager VanEck filed for an Onchain Economy ETF that focuses on companies involved in digital transformation but won’t hold crypto directly.
ProShares jumped into the fray with an application for a Solana futures ETF just days later.
Who’s jumping on the XRP bandwagon?
WisdomTree filed its own application for an XRP ETF last December, making it one of several firms looking to cash in on this crypto.
Others like Bitwise and 21Shares are also in the mix, hoping to ride this wave of interest.
So while we don’t know when will it come, it’s sure that exciting times ahead with potential futures contracts for Solana and XRP on the horizon, plus a flurry of ETF applications. Maybe we won’t be bored in February.
