CME Group plans to roll out XRP and Solana futures options in October

CME Group will roll out options for XRP and Solana (SOL) futures on October 13, with expiries available daily, monthly and quarterly, adding an extra layer of exposure for investors.

XRP and Solana futures options to go live on CME in October

CME Group, one of the largest derivatives exchanges, plans to roll out options contracts tied to Solana and XRP futures on October 13, subject to regulatory approval, according to a statement on Wednesday.

The contracts will be available in both standard and micro sizes, with expiration choices ranging from daily to monthly and quarterly.

CME introduced Solana and XRP futures in March and May, respectively, offering investors crypto exposure outside of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) contracts for the first time.

The exchange noted that more than 540,000 Solana contracts, valued at $22.3 billion and 370,000 XRP contracts, worth $16.2 billion, have been traded on its platform since their respective launches this year.

The products also reached record levels of daily trading activity and open interest in August, placing them among the fastest adopted futures contracts on the exchange.

"The launch of these options contracts builds on the significant growth and increasing liquidity we have seen across our suite of Solana and XRP futures," said Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products. 

Options on Solana and XRP futures reflect the industry's shift beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum and indicate a growing appetite for diversified crypto exposure, added Roman Makarov, Head of Cumberland options trading at DRW.

CME is also partnering with crypto prime broker FalconX to increase demand for the products. FalconX Global Co-Head of Markets Joshua Lim noted that the growth of digital asset treasuries and other access vehicles has heightened demand for institutional hedging tools on Solana and XRP.

The development comes as market participants anticipate the Securities & Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of US spot XRP and Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

CME's crypto futures are often viewed as a benchmark for ETF approvals, since the SEC considers whether an asset has regulated futures contracts when evaluating such applications. 

The regulator is also developing new generic listing standards for crypto ETFs, with some proposals suggesting that approval should follow once futures contracts for the underlying asset have traded on a regulated derivatives exchange over a specified period.