CME Group to Launch XRP Futures on May 19, Pending Approval

CME Group, a leading global derivatives marketplace, has announced plans to launch XRP futures, marking its fourth cryptocurrency product. The new futures contracts are scheduled to debut on May 19, 2025, pending regulatory approval, as confirmed in a press release issued on April 24. This move follows the exchange’s existing offerings of Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana futures.

The forthcoming XRP futures will offer a micro-sized contract (2,500 XRP) and a larger-sized contract (50,000 XRP). Both will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, a daily benchmark of XRP’s U.S. dollar price calculated at 4:00 p.m. London time, developed in collaboration with CF Benchmarks.

CME Group also highlighted growing interest in XRP, noting increased adoption by both institutional and retail investors. This product aims to provide institutional investors with a regulated tool to manage exposure to XRP. “Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption for the network grows, and we are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients' investment and hedging strategies,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group.

XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger developed by Ripple, is designed to facilitate fast and cost-efficient cross-border payments, primarily for financial institutions. It enables banks and payment providers to source liquidity on demand and settle transactions in 3–5 seconds at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. As of April 25, XRP trades at around $2.2, up 0.7% in the past 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $128 billion, ranking it as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Several institutions have adopted XRP for payment solutions. Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service, which uses XRP as a bridge currency, has been implemented by companies like Standard Chartered Bank and Santander for international transfers. Additionally, the SEC’s decision to drop its lawsuit against Ripple in March, which resulted in a $50 million penalty but no fraud charges, has removed a significant regulatory hurdle, potentially accelerating XRP’s adoption by financial entities. Teucrium Trading, a provider of commodity-based ETFs, also launched its XRP futures product. Notably, the Teucrium 2x Daily Long XRP ETF (XXRP) reached $35 million in assets under management in its first 10 trading days, confirmed by Sal Gilbertie, CEO of Teucrium, reflecting strong investor demand for regulated access to leading digital assets.

The next step of CME Group’s plan is to make these futures available on platforms like Robinhood, according to CME’s official press release. “Bringing CME Group XRP futures to Robinhood is a natural next step in our mission to expand retail access to futures trading,” said JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood. “Our customers have shown a deep interest in digital assets, and they will soon be able to access an even wider variety of crypto futures to complement Robinhood's existing spot crypto offerings. Soon, customers will be able to trade 40 futures products on Robinhood using our one-of-a-kind mobile trading ladder, giving them the speed and precision typically reserved for institutional traders.”