XRP futures contracts launched on CME Group's derivatives platform on May 19, marking a notable debut with at least $1.5 million in trading volume. This follows the CFTC's classification of XRP as a commodity, potentially paving the way for spot XRP ETFs.
CME data indicates that 4 standard contracts, representing 50,000 XRP each, traded on the first day. This totaled around $480,000 in notional volume at an average price of $2.40.
The majority of the activity came from 106 micro contracts, each representing 2,500 XRP, accounting for over $1 million in additional volume. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted the launch as a key institutional milestone for XRP.
The contracts are cash-settled and benchmarked to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, published daily at 4:00 P.M. London time. Analysts suggest this debut could strengthen the case for a spot XRP ETF.
While early volumes appear modest, XRP's inclusion on CME widens market dynamics for price discovery. This mirrors the impact observed with BTC and ETH futures when the U.S. market opens.
This article is based on our author's analysis of materials taken from the following resource: Coindesk.