- XRP has regained its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation at US$151 billion, overtaking Tether (USDT) for the second time in recent days.
- CME Group has officially announced XRP futures will launch on 19 May, offering both micro contracts (2,500 XRP) suitable for retail traders and standard contracts (50,000 XRP) for institutional investors.
- Both contract types will be cash-settled daily against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, providing transparent pricing without requiring actual token delivery.
- The announcement follows an earlier website error in January when CME prematurely reported plans for XRP futures, which Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart had commented “makes sense” even at that time.
XRP has reclaimed its third spot on the market-capitalisation list after reaching it yesterday and temporarily slipping back to fourth within hours. It has now hit a market capitalisation of US$151 billion (AU$233.1 billion), pushing it past Tether (USDT) once again.
While the market cap climbed by 2.5 per cent, XRP’s trading volume is down 43 per cent over the past 24 hours at US$6 billion (AU$9.3 billion). The price of XRP rose 2.5 per cent in the same period, trading at US$2.56 (AU$3.95) at the time of writing.
Yesterday’s price gains seem linked to rumours of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), and ETF news is still dominating the narrative.
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XRP Futures Arrive 19 May
CME Group is launching XRP futures on 19 May and offers two contract sizes to suit different traders:
- Micro contracts (2,500 XRP): feature lower margin requirements, making them accessible to retail traders and smaller institutions; they also allow precise position sizing and smaller-scale hedging strategies.
- Standard contracts (50,000 XRP): provide deeper liquidity and tighter spreads for larger institutions and high-frequency traders, enabling efficient hedging of substantial XRP exposures.
Both contract types are cash-settled daily against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, offering transparent pricing without requiring token delivery.
Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, said that interest in XRP and the XRP Ledger continues to grow “as institutional and retail adoption for the network grows”.
He added that they are eager to launch these futures “to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies”.
As innovation in the digital asset landscape continues to evolve, market participants continue to look to regulated derivatives products to manage risks across a wider range of tokens.
Giovanni Vicioso, CME GroupXRP Futures Error Turns into Real Product
In January, CME Group clarified that a website announcement indicating that SOL and XRP futures would launch soon was made in error.
However, the latest confirmation that these contracts are proceeding is welcome news and, as Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart commented, “makes sense”, echoing his remarks from January when the website error was being discussed.
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