CME Group announces XRP futures fastest contract to cross $1 billion open interest

XRP futures became the fastest contract in CME Group history to cross $1 billion in open interest (OI), achieving the milestone in just over three months.

CME Group reported its crypto futures suite surpassed $30 billion in notional open interest for the first time, with XRP and Solana futures each crossing the $1 billion threshold. Additionally, Ethereum reached the OI record of $10.5 billion.

The derivatives exchange stated:

“Our Crypto futures suite just surpassed $30B in notional open interest for the first time ever. Our SOL and XRP futures, along with ETH options, each crossed $1B in OI, with XRP being the fastest-ever contract to do so, hitting the mark in just over 3 months.”

Strong trading activity

XRP futures recorded their largest daily volume since July 15 on Aug. 25, with 7,533 contracts traded and over $1 billion in total volume, according to CME data.

The activity demonstrates appetite for regulated XRP exposure through CME’s CFTC-supervised platform.

The milestone comes as traditional finance firms seek cryptocurrency derivatives products. CME launched XRP futures in May 2025, providing institutions with standardized contracts settling to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth, connected the futures activity to potential spot ETF demand on Aug. 26.

He said:

“CME Group says XRP futures contracts have crossed over $1 billion in open interest… Fastest-ever contract to do so (took just over 3mos). There’s already $800+mil in futures-based xrp ETFs. Think people might be underestimating demand for spot xrp ETFs.”

After the CME XRP futures launch on May 19, Geraci noted that spot ETFs were only a matter of time. The affirmation is likely because analysts view regulated futures markets as a crucial requirement for spot crypto ETF approvals.

Several asset managers have filed for spot XRP ETFs with the SEC, including applications from 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and Grayscale.

CME’s crypto derivatives now include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. BTC futures account for the largest share, with over $16 billion in open interest, while Ethereum futures hold approximately $10.5 billion. Additionally, both XRP and Solana recently joined the billion-dollar club.

The $30 billion milestone represents institutional adoption of crypto derivatives as portfolio management tools.

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