CME Group to Finally Launch XRP Futures Trading: ETF Approval Next?

Derivatives marketplace CME Group confirms plans to launch XRP futures trading next month, bolstering the chances of an XRP ETF approval. The world's largest derivatives marketplace, CME Group, officially announced today in a press release that it will launch XRP futures on May 19, 2025, pending regulatory approval.  Details of the CME Group XRP Futures Launch Notably, this long-anticipated move follows months of speculation and a growing demand for regulated XRP products. Per the release, market participants will be able to choose between two contract sizes: a micro contract of 2,500 XRP and a standard contract of 50,000 XRP. Further, the XRP futures will be cash-settled and benchmarked against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which updates daily at 16:00 UTC. With this launch, CME Group will expand its crypto product suite, which already includes Bitcoin, Ethereum , and, most recently, Solana (SOL) futures.  According to CME, the inclusion of XRP reflects growing institutional and retail interest in the crypto asset and its underlying technology, the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group's Global Head of Crypto Products, stressed that the firm continues to see growing demand for regulated crypto derivatives. The launch of XRP futures will provide investors with better tools for managing exposure in a regulated environment. Growing Interest in XRP and Crypto Products Interestingly, recent crypto futures trading data from CME confirms this growing interest. Specifically, Q1 2025 saw an average daily volume of 198,000 contracts, translating to $11.3 billion in notional value. This represents a 141% increase year-over-year.  In addition, open interest also climbed 83%, reaching an average of 251,000 contracts valued at $21.8 billion. The firm also confirmed that since Solana futures debuted on March 17, over 43,000 contracts worth approximately $705 million in notional value have traded. Meanwhile, Robinhood is also expected to offer CME's XRP futures, continuing its push into crypto derivatives. The brokerage seems to make institutional-grade trading tools accessible to retail users through its mobile futures trading ladder. Sal Gilbertie, CEO of Teucrium, noted that XRP was specifically designed for financial applications and is already used in global value transfers via the XRP Ledger.  Teucrium's 2x Daily Long XRP ETF (XXRP), the first XRP ETF in the U.S., recently reached $35 million in assets under management within ten trading days, showing investor appetite for regulated exposure to XRP. Gilbertie views CME's XRP futures launch as a major milestone that supports ecosystem growth. Growing List of XRP Futures Trading Venues: XRP ETF Next? This announcement follows earlier developments that hinted at the launch of XRP derivatives. On Jan. 22, a test version of CME's website mistakenly published details about XRP and Solana futures launching in February, triggering a brief uptick in both tokens.  While CME initially denied the legitimacy of the leak, Solana futures went live on March 17. Interestingly, this lent some credibility to the earlier posting. More recently, Bitnomial introduced physically settled XRP futures in March 2025, becoming the first U.S. exchange to do so under CFTC regulation. Coinbase Derivatives followed with its own XRP futures last week. The growing list of regulated XRP futures products suggests a change in how regulators, particularly the CFTC, classify the token. XRP's inclusion in CME's lineup indicates implicit recognition of XRP as a commodity, a major step toward potential approval of spot and leveraged XRP ETFs.  Currently, more than ten XRP ETF filings await SEC approval, and the existence of regulated futures is a necessary precondition for such approvals, just as it was for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Notably, with XRP futures finally arriving at CME Group, the road toward the first U.S.-based spot XRP ETF appears more attainable than ever.