Earlier this week, CME Group launched trading of XRP Futures, expanding its offering of cryptocurrency-related financial services. On its first day, the notional trading volume reached $19 million, surpassing the $12.3 million recorded by Solana futures in March.
Currently, CME Group is the largest derivatives market in the United States, and XRP futures are positioned as its fourth cryptocurrency-linked product.
In the last 24 hours, the price of XRP recorded a decline of 1.21% at the time of writing this note. With a market capitalization of approximately $137 billion, XRP is the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, standing out for its relevance within the industry and its role in the current U.S. regulatory environment.
However, despite the interest shown by investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed decisions on ETFs. Specifically, proposals for spot exchange-traded funds for SOL and XRP were delayed.
XRP futures generate $19 million on their first day, surprising the market
XRP has established itself as a viable alternative that has managed to capitalize on the interest of both its community and large companies. Its low transaction costs and high scalability have made this cryptocurrency a prominent reference within the industry.
XRP futures are available in two contract sizes: the micro size, which is equivalent to 2,500 XRP, and the standard contract of 50,000 XRP. Both contracts settle in cash according to a specific reference rate known as CME CF XRP-dollar. These types of products, aimed at institutional investors, facilitate the adoption and entry of new capital into the crypto ecosystem.
Unlike Solana, the launch of XRP Futures is consistent with the volumes of the cryptocurrency. In the case of Solana, a group of analysts from K33 questioned the 'poor' performance of the launch. This was due to only accumulating $12.9 million and a relatively low interest from CME Group traders.
In a statement, Giovanni Vicioso, current global director of crypto products at CME Group, said the following:
"The addition of XRP futures and Micro XRP to our leading and regulated cryptocurrency suite will provide investors with the deeply liquid and capital-efficient tools they need to support their growing investment and hedging strategies in cryptocurrencies."
The same principle with different results
The image below shows a notable difference between the launches of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana futures. The most significant difference is observed in Bitcoin, which is understandable given the size of its network and the large number of clients it has.
In 2017, the debut of Bitcoin futures at CME Group reached a trading volume of $102.7 million on its first day. On the other hand, Ethereum achieved a surprising volume of $31 million on its first trading day in February 2021.
It is important to note that these figures correspond only to the first day, so both the notional volume and open interest may increase significantly over time, speaking of the case of XRP Futures.
The growing interest from institutional clients indicates an upward trend that is likely to drive the creation of new financial products. The establishment of a regulated market for XRP suggests an important step in this direction, facilitating the entry of more capital and the expansion of the crypto ecosystem.
