CME Group set to launch XRP futures on Monday amid legal setback for SEC and Ripple

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a proposed settlement that sought to reduce Ripple’s $125 million penalty.

Key Takeaways

• CME Group will offer XRP futures starting May 19, pending regulatory review.
• SEC and Ripple’s settlement request was denied, maintaining the $125 million penalty.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, is expected to launch XRP futures and Micro XRP futures contracts on Monday, May 19, aiming to expand its suite of regulated crypto derivatives to include the fourth-largest digital asset by market capitalization.

The contracts will be available for trading on CME Globex and cleared through CME ClearPort, with access beginning Sunday evening, May 18, for after-hours participants, as noted in CME’s notice.

Each XRP futures contract will represent 50,000 XRP, while the Micro XRP futures will represent 2,500 XRP, both cash-settled based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate. Fees vary by participant type and venue.

CME Group confirmed in April that it plans to launch its first XRP futures contracts, pending regulatory approval, following earlier leaks in January that hinted at the rollout.

“Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption of the network grows,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, in an April statement. “We are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies.”

The XRP products will expand CME’s existing crypto derivatives lineup, which already includes contracts tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. CME just debuted Solana futures in March.

The company’s Q1 crypto derivatives trading saw daily volume climb 141% year-over-year to 198,000 contracts, or $11.3 billion in notional terms, while open interest grew 83% to 251,000 contracts worth $21.8 billion.

The upcoming rollout comes as efforts to settle the SEC’s long-running case against Ripple, the company behind XRP, stall in court.

On Thursday, US District Judge Analisa Torres, the federal judge presiding over the case, denied a joint request by the two parties to approve a settlement that would have reduced Ripple’s civil penalty from $125 million to $50 million.

Calling it procedurally improper, Judge Torres explained that the motion failed to satisfy Rule 60, which only allows relief from a final judgment under exceptional circumstances.

The decision keeps Ripple’s legal challenges alive and casts uncertainty over the timeline for spot XRP ETF approvals, which remain under SEC review.

Still, the introduction of CME XRP futures gives institutional investors regulated exposure to XRP price movements at a time when interest in crypto derivatives is growing.

Last month, Coinbase announced the listing of XRP futures contracts, including standard XRP futures and nano XRP futures, on its regulated derivatives exchange.

The price of XRP has been relatively stable over the past 24 hours at approximately $2.3 per CoinGecko.

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