Coinbase Bets Big on Crypto Futures: XRP and Solana Contracts Go Live Amid ETF Frenzy

Wall Street’s latest crypto crush just got hotter—Coinbase is rolling out XRP and Solana futures trading for US investors, riding the ETF hype wave like a surfer on stimulants.

Why it matters: While traditional finance finally warms to crypto (after years of sneering), exchanges are racing to cash in on the institutional gold rush. Nothing accelerates adoption like the scent of fresh fees.

The fine print: These aren’t your grandma’s Bitcoin futures—Solana’s blistering speeds and XRP’s regulatory limbo make these contracts high-stakes poker for degens and hedge funds alike. Just don’t expect the SEC to send a congratulatory fruit basket.

Bottom line: Coinbase isn’t just hedging its bets—it’s planting a flag in the next frontier of crypto derivatives. Because nothing says ’mature asset class’ like leveraged speculation wrapped in regulatory uncertainty.

Coinbase Derivatives is looking to launch round-the-clock futures trading of Ripple’s XRP and solana (SOL) on June 13, in an effort to bridge the gap between fixed trading hours and the 24/7 nature of the crypto market.

Starting June 13, we’re enabling 24×7 trading for $XRP and Solana ( $SOL ) futures, unlocking real-time access to U.S. traders, reflecting the always-on nature of crypto markets.

Coinbase Derivatives, the firm’s CFTC-regulated derivatives arm, will enable the round-the-clock futures contracts trading for both retail and institutional users.

The announcement follows Coinbase Derivatives’ recent introduction of 24/7 trading for Bitcoin and ethereum futures, which made the entity the first CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange to offer round-the-clock access to crypto futures contracts in the US. The move came just a day after Coinbase announced it would acquire the derivatives exchange Deribit in a $2.9 billion deal to boost derivatives offerings.

By debuting these products, Coinbase is positioning itself to grab a huge share of the trillion-dollar derivatives market. The company noted that derivatives now make up over 75% of global crypto trading volume. With the new offerings, Coinbase aims to tap into that increasing demand, providing US traders with more tools to remain active in a market that never sleeps.

“The arrival of 24/7 CFTC-regulated markets is a game-changer for the industry,” Coinbase Financial Markets CEO Andy Sears said in a statement.

The launch comes at a time when several investment managers, such as Bitwise, Grayscale, Canary Capital, 21Shares, and Franklin Templeton, have submitted paperwork with the SEC for spot XRP and SOL exchange-traded funds (ETFs) amid shifting regulatory winds in the US. 

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts last month upped their estimated odds of US regulators approving a SOL exchange-traded fund (ETF) in 2025 to 90%. They pegged an 85% chance of approval to funds holding XRP.

XRP was trading at $2.19 as of press time, after dropping 4.6% in the last 24 hours after a U.S. appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s sweeping tariffs, rattling investor confidence and triggering a crypto market-wide sell-off. Meanwhile, SOL slid 5.5% to $161.32, per CoinGecko.