CME Group eyes May launch for XRP futures product

CME Group is preparing to roll out XRP futures on May 19, pending regulatory approval.

According to an April 24 statement, the product will feature two contract sizes, including one tied to 2,500 XRP and another to 50,000 XRP.

These contracts are designed to accommodate varying investment strategies. They will be cash-settled and benchmarked against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, calculated daily at 4:00 P.M. London time.

Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, noted a surge in demand for XRP and its native blockchain, the XRP Ledger (XRPL). He highlighted growing adoption from institutional and retail investors, calling the upcoming futures a capital-efficient option for portfolio management and risk hedging.

XRP is currently the fourth-largest crypto, with over $126 billion in market capitalization. According to CryptoSlate data, it was trading around $2.19 after shedding 2% in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, this upcoming launch would expand the company’s roster of crypto derivatives, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Vicioso pointed out that demand for regulated derivatives products covering a broader range of tokens is growing as the digital asset market evolves.

XRP ETF

CME’s expansion into XRP comes shortly after Coinbase Derivatives introduced its CFTC-regulated XRP futures. These parallel moves strengthen XRP’s presence in the US financial market.

The moves could be pivotal in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC ) potential approval of spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) products.

Tony Edwards, the founder of the Thinking Crypto podcast, said:

“This is big and important for XRP spot etf approval!”

In the past, the financial regulator has cited the lack of a regulated futures market to deny spot ETF applications for altcoins. That hurdle may no longer hold because XRP futures are listed under CFTC oversight.

Several asset managers, including 21Shares, Canary, and Bitwise, have already submitted proposals for a spot XRP ETF. JPMorgan has projected that these ETFs could attract as much as $8 billion in assets within their first year.

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