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Institutional investors prefer CME derivatives for regulated exposure to digital assets, avoiding direct ownership.
Jul 16, 2025, 7:41 a.m.
The CME's nascent XRP futures market is growing fast as sophisticated investors gravitate to the payments-focused cryptocurrency.
Together, the standard and micro futures registered a total trading volume of $235 million on Friday, the highest on record. The tally takes the cumulative trading since inception on May 19 to $1.6 billion, according to data source CME Active Trader.
"The record underscores the rapidly growing demand in our new XRP futures suite," Active Trader said on X.
The CME is a preferred venue for institutions seeking to gain exposure to digital assets through regulated derivatives while avoiding direct ownership of the token. CME's futures tied to bitcoin and ether are widely considered a proxy for institutional activity.
The XRP standard contracts are sized at 50,000 XRP and micro contracts at 2,500 XRP.
Ripple, which uses XRP to facilitate cross-border transactions, has applied for a banking license in the U.S. and is reportedly interested in getting a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license to expand into the European Union.
Omkar Godbole
Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team based in Mumbai, holds a masters degree in Finance and a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) member. Omkar previously worked at FXStreet, writing research on currency markets and as fundamental analyst at currency and commodities desk at Mumbai-based brokerage houses. Omkar holds small amounts of bitcoin, ether, BitTorrent, tron and dot.
