Wall Street Bets Big on XRP: ProShares and CME Forge Ahead with Crypto Derivatives Push

Institutional players are doubling down on XRP—despite the SEC’s lingering legal shadow—as derivatives giants ProShares and CME roll out fresh crypto products. Traders are voting with their wallets, and the message is clear: regulatory uncertainty won’t kill this market (though it might give compliance officers ulcers).

Wall Street’s latest crypto play reveals a familiar pattern: first they ignore you, then they sue you, then they launch ETFs tracking your price movements. The suits always arrive late to the party—but they bring the leverage.

Meanwhile, CME Group is gearing up to introduce XRP futures as well. CME — which already offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana futures — plans to add two cash-settled XRP contracts tied to 2,500 and 50,000 XRP, respectively. The pricing will be based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, updated daily.

The timing is notable, coming as U.S. regulators under the Trump administration adopt a more crypto-friendly posture. Current market data shows XRP hovering around $2, with a slight 1% gain over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

XRP’s growing presence in institutional products reflects its broader clout. With a market cap exceeding $127 billion, the token ranks as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency. Backed by Ripple, XRP’s expansion efforts in Washington, D.C. have fueled both aggressive lobbying campaigns and controversy within the crypto space. Ripple’s ongoing promotion of XRP as an energy-efficient alternative to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model has further added to the competitive narrative.