CME Group plans to launch XRP futures, its fourth-ever crypto add
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XRP is arguably a natural expansion for the CME following BTC, ETH and SOL, given its $127 billion market cap.
By Matt BrienenCME Group, the company behind the largest U.S. derivatives exchange, plans to launch XRP -1.55%
futures within a month, pending regulatory review by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to an announcement on Thursday.
If approved, CME XRP futures would be the fourth straight-up cryptocurrency available on the marketplace, which also lists BTC, ETH and SOL products.
The move, coming shortly after listing Solana futures, is representative of the CME Group’s increasing interest in crypto amid shifting regulatory circumstances in the U.S. Under President Trump’s direction, regulators at the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission have taken a less restrictive approach to overseeing the blockchain industry.
According to the announcement, CME will offer a micro-sized contract (2,500 XRP) and a larger-sized contract (50,000 XRP). Both will be cash-settled and use the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, calculated once a day at 4:00 p.m. ET.
To some extent, listing XRP is a natural expansion for the CME given that the cryptocurrency has a market capitalization of over $127 billion, making it the fourth-largest token. Ripple, the company most closely associated with XRP, is also a lobbying giant with a significant presence in Washington, D.C.
However, it’s just that advocacy that may also ruffle feathers, given that Ripple and the so-called XRP Army have at times participated in antagonistic campaigns against other parts of the crypto industry in favor of its own interests. Ripple, for instance, has been critical of Bitcoin’s energy-intensive proof-of-work mechanism while promoting XRP as a more sustainable alternative.