“Incredibly Important” — Ripple CEO Posits As Exchange Giant CME Prepares To Launch XRP Futures Next Month

CME Group will introduce XRP futures next month, pending regulatory approval, the operator of derivatives markets exchanges announced on Thursday.

The launch follows CME’s debut of Solana (SOL) futures in March, in addition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures and options, which have been trading on the exchange for a while.

The move to expand its suite of crypto derivatives comes amid a more conciliatory regulatory posture in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s direction.

XRP Futures Debuting On CME

According to an April 24 announcement, CME will offer two contract sizes: 2,500 XRP and 50,000 XRP. These contracts will be cash-settled based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which tracks the price of XRP every day at 4:00 p.m. London time.

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s global head of cryptocurrency products, cited the growing interest in XRP and its technology as the main reason for the forthcoming product rollout. 

“Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption for the network grows, and we are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies,” Vicioso said in a statement.

If approved, it will be the first time institutions can get exposure to Ripple-linked XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. It was recently trading for $2.21 per coin after a 1.3% 24-hour drop, according to CoinGecko. It is up nearly 15% over the past 14 days, part of a broader market rebound.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described CME’s upcoming launch as “incredibly important.” Garlinghouse claims that it’s “an exciting step” in the continued growth of the XRP market.

Are Spot XRP ETFs Next?

If the CME XRP futures are approved, they could pave the way for XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be greenlighted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

An XRP ETF would give sophisticated investors exposure to the digital coin via regulated shares that trade on a stock exchange. Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and 21Shares are all seeking an SEC sign-off for XRP-based funds.

Some crypto spectators expect XRP adoption to grow dramatically now that the SEC has walked away from its appeal in the Ripple case. Case in point, Kaiko analysts earlier this month predicted that XRP  was more likely to be approved for a spot ETF approval in the US ahead of other tokens, including Dogecoin and Solana.