Since launching just a week ago, the CME’s new XRP futures have already recorded $86.6 million in trading volume across their first six trading days.
These regulated futures contracts — available in both standard (50,000 XRP) and micro (2,500 XRP) sizes — highlight XRP’s broad international appeal, with nearly half of the trading activity occurring outside of U.S. market hours, according to a CME spokesperson who spoke with CoinDesk.
Specifically, 46% of total volume took place during non-U.S. trading hours, reflecting strong participation from global investors. This underscores XRP’s status as a payment-focused cryptocurrency designed for fast, low-cost cross-border transfers.
Ripple, the fintech firm behind XRP, leverages the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to streamline international money movement.
The CME contracts are cash-settled, based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which calculates XRP’s price daily at 4:00 p.m. London time. These futures allow traders to gain exposure to XRP’s price movements without holding the actual tokens.
