Key Highlights
- CME Group launched Spot-Quoted futures for XRP and Solana (SOL).
- The contracts track real-time prices and are CME’s smallest crypto futures.
- Traders can use Trading at Settlement (TAS) and trade alongside major U.S. stock indices.
CME Group has launched Spot-Quoted futures for XRP and Solana (SOL), expanding its crypto trading lineup and giving traders more ways to trade cryptocurrencies closer to real-time prices. The launch follows the success of Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether futures, which have seen strong demand since June.
The new contracts are listed on CME and CBOT and can be traded alongside major U.S. equity indices, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Smallest contracts for everyday traders
According to CME, Spot-Quoted futures are different from regular futures because they follow the price of the cryptocurrency directly, while financing adjustments are done separately when the contract ends.
“We’ve seen strong demand for our current Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether futures, with more than 1.3 million contracts traded since launched in June, and we are pleased to add XRP and SOL to our offering,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME.
The new XRP and SOL contracts are the smallest crypto contracts CME has introduced so far. They are designed for traders who want to trade more simply without worrying about contract expiries or rolling positions often. In short, traders can hold positions longer or trade in and out without extra steps. CME first introduced XRP futures on May 19, which quickly attracted more than $1 billion in open interest.
On November 24, Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether futures recorded an average daily trading volume of 11,300 contracts, with a record of 60,700 contracts traded.
Flexible trading with TAS
CME has also added Trading at Settlement (TAS) for XRP, SOL, and their micro futures. TAS allows traders to take trades at a price based on the 4:00 p.m. ET settlement price before it is known. The feature is often used to manage risks around crypto ETFs, execute block trades, and maintain anonymity via CME Globex.
In October, CME also introduced options on SOL, Micro SOL, XRP, and Micro XRP futures. The launch of these new Spot-Quoted futures gives traders more choices and easier access to crypto markets.
Despite this expansion, the prices of these tokens have failed to rebound. Currently, XRP is trading for $1.90 after a 7.5% drop in the past week, while SOL is trading for $126, down 7.19% in the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.
Also Read: 21Shares Launches XRP ETF $TOXR for Convenient Crypto Access
