Ripple’s Garlinghouse Cheers CME’s XRP Futures Launch as ETF Rumors Swirl

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just gave CME Group’s new XRP futures contracts a standing ovation—right as Wall Street starts whispering about a potential XRP ETF. Because nothing screams ’mainstream adoption’ like letting institutional traders bet against retail holders.

The move signals growing confidence in XRP’s regulatory clarity—or at least enough comfort for CME to risk the SEC’s wrath. Meanwhile, crypto Twitter’s already pricing in a futures-backed ETF that’ll probably get delayed 14 times before approval.

Funny how these ’decentralized’ assets keep begging for traditional finance’s stamp of approval. Next up: Bitcoin ETFs getting rejected again to ’protect investors’ while Congress trades memecoins on Robinhood.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared his excitement on social media, calling the launch “a key institutional milestone” for XRP. He also revealed that Hidden Road cleared the first block trade on the CME as trading opened. He added, “While overdue in a bunch of ways, this is an incredibly important and exciting step in the continued growth of the XRP market!”

XRP bulls are optimistic. The majority think that institutional funds now coming in through CME put XRP in a more favorable position to hit the $3, a price point it has not been above since its peak in 2018. Futures trading might usher in more volume and stability. Currently, the XRP is at about 2.43.

There’s also increasing speculation over an emerging XRP ETF. Attention has meanwhile come to the approaching decision over the Franklin XRP Fund, which is a proposed spot XRP ETF. The SEC will announce June 17, 2025 as the date it will deliver its verdict on the case – a month from now.

If approved, it would allow even more investors to gain exposure to XRP, similar to the way Bitcoin and ethereum ETFs have brought in big money. This could further boost XRP’s price and acceptance in mainstream finance.

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