XRP Futures Debuts With Over $1.5 Million in Trading Volume

On the first day of trading on the CME Group’s platform, XRP futures recorded a volume of $1.5 million. Due to the impressive debut of XRP futures, there is excitement in the Ripple community that XRP ETFs could be approved soon.

XRP Futures Record $1.5 Million on Trading Debut

On Monday, May 19, XRP Futures debuted on the CME Group after receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 30. On opening day, XRP futures recorded $1.5 million in trading volume.

On the first day of trading, CME reported that 4 standard contracts, each representing 50,000 XRP, traded for a total value of $480,000 at an average price of $2.40. Trading on the first day involved 106 micro contracts, creating a volume of more than $1 million.

CME introduced XRP futures after XRP was classified as a commodity by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). The launch of XRP futures on CME Group will attempt to meet the growing institutional interest in regulated XRP exposure.

            Why the XRP Future Contracts Are An Attractive Option

When these XRP futures contracts end, the profits or losses are paid out as USD instead of delivering the digital XRP tokens. Since cash-settlement is involved, institutions do not have to worry about holding or controlling their crypto assets.

The CME Group provides both standard contracts and micro contracts to suit both major organizations and retail traders. There are 50,000 XRP coins in a standard contract and 2,500 XRP coins in a micro contract.

The settlement is in cash and references the daily-published CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, published at 16:00 London time. The launch of XRP futures may result in greater institutional interest and use of the cryptocurrency.

Major Milestone for XRP in Pursuit of a Spot ETF

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, shared his excitement about the launch. Garlinghouse tweeted on X that the launch of regulated XRP Futures on the CME Group marks a key institutional milestone for XRP. Garlinghouse added that Hidden Road executed the first block trade.

There is excitement in the crypto community that an XRP ETF could be approved soon. Previously, experts believed that having regulated futures markets played a crucial role in determining if the SEC would accept spot crypto ETFs.

Hidden Road, a global credit network for institutions, initiating the first block could be a symbolic gesture for what is to come. This belief was strengthened by comments from ETF Store president Nate Geraci. He mentioned on Twitter that spot XRP ETFs are set to be approved soon. 

            How XRP Futures Can Help the Approval of Spot XRP ETFs

According to reports, there are currently nine spot XRP ETF applications. The availability of CFTC-regulated XRP futures now means one of these ETFs could be approved soon. The XRP futures will help hasten the approval of spot XRP ETFs because they can potentially provide more liquidity. 

Greater liquidity in XRP helps ETF issuers meet SEC requirements. Also, when a spot XRP ETF is approved, fund providers can show a detailed infrastructure document to the SEC, as shown by CME data. This could mean that we could get a spot XRP ETF very soon. 

As of May 20, the XRP coin has shown no significant change in price in reaction to the news. The XRP coin is trading at $2.33 with a 1% increase in the last 24 hours.

XRP Price Chart. Source: TradingView