XRP Futures Go Live on CME: Wall Street Finally Plays Catch-Up With Crypto

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) just fired the starting pistol on XRP futures trading—because nothing says ’adoption’ like letting institutional investors bet against a coin the SEC tried to kill.

Why now? After years of regulatory limbo, XRP gets its big-boy pants as CME joins the party. Because nothing warms a banker’s heart like derivatives on an asset they once called ’unregistered securities.’

The fine print: Contracts will be cash-settled, because physical delivery would require admitting crypto is actually useful. Each contract represents 10,000 XRP—roughly the same number of times retail traders will get liquidated chasing this volatility.

Bottom line: Another notch in crypto’s belt as traditional finance slowly—painfully—realizes the future won’t wait for their paperwork. Just don’t expect them to acknowledge they were wrong.

CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, announced its new XRP futures are now available for trading. The first trade, a block, took place on Sunday, May 18, and was cleared by Hidden Road.

“We are pleased to see such early support for our latest futures contracts, with more than $19 million in notional volume traded the first day,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. “The addition of XRP and Micro XRP futures to our leading, regulated cryptocurrency suite will provide investors with the deeply liquid, capital-efficient tools they need to support their growing cryptocurrency investment and hedging strategies.”

“We are excited to clear the first block trade in CME Group XRP futures,” said Noel Kimmel, President of Hidden Road and CEO of Hidden Road’s Futures Commission Merchant. “This is a significant milestone for Hidden Road, and the continued institutional adoption of digital assets – particularly in enhancing liquidity and risk management capabilities around XRP. As one of the largest non-bank prime brokers and FCMs, Hidden Road remains focused on delivering seamless global market access and driving innovation at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets.”

CME Group XRP futures are available in both a micro-sized (2,500 XRP) and a larger-sized contract (50,000 XRP), and are cash-settled to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which serves as a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of XRP and is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. London time.

Source: CME