CME Group to Launch Solana (SOL) Futures on March 17

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group has announced the launch of Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, 2025, expanding its cryptocurrency product suite. The offering includes two contract sizes: a micro-sized contract (25 SOL) and a larger-sized contract (500 SOL). These cash-settled futures will be based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate.

The company's crypto trading metrics show strong growth with average daily volume of 202,000 contracts (up 73% year-over-year) and average open interest of 243,600 contracts (up 55% year-over-year), with over 11,300 unique trading accounts.

The new SOL futures join CME's existing crypto products including Bitcoin and Ether futures and options futures, reinforcing the company's position in providing regulated cryptocurrency trading products for institutional investors and active traders.

Positive

• Launch of new SOL futures expands product offering and revenue streams
• Strong YoY growth in crypto trading volume (+73%) and open interest (+55%)
• 11,300+ unique trading accounts shows growing market participation
• Multiple contract sizes cater to different investor needs

Negative

• Launch subject to pending regulatory review
• Increased exposure to volatile crypto market

Insights

Financial Analyst

CME Group's planned launch of Solana (SOL) futures on March 17 represents a strategic expansion of their cryptocurrency derivatives suite and creates new opportunities for institutional investors seeking regulated exposure to the third-largest smart contract platform by market cap.

The introduction of both micro-sized (25 SOL) and standard-sized (500 SOL) contracts demonstrates CME's commitment to serving diverse market participants—from retail traders to large institutions—while providing capital-efficient access through futures' margin requirements versus full-funding needed for spot positions.

This launch builds on CME's impressive cryptocurrency trading metrics: 73% year-over-year growth in average daily volume and 55% increase in open interest. With over 11,300 unique accounts already trading their crypto products, CME is capitalizing on demonstrated demand while extending their first-mover advantage in regulated crypto derivatives.

The cash-settled structure based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate follows CME's established playbook from Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, offering familiar infrastructure to institutional investors while avoiding digital asset custody concerns. This makes Solana exposure accessible within traditional financial frameworks.

Historically, CME's regulated futures have served as important market infrastructure preceding broader institutional adoption, including the eventual approval of spot ETFs. The endorsements from prominent crypto-native firms like Bitwise and Multicoin Capital alongside traditional finance player Plus500 suggests the product meets needs across the investment spectrum.

Market Structure Specialist

The addition of Solana futures to CME's product lineup has significant implications for market structure and price discovery within the broader crypto ecosystem. These cash-settled, regulated derivatives will introduce a new layer of liquidity that should enhance price efficiency in Solana markets.

Of particular importance is how these futures will enable sophisticated cross-market strategies between centralized and decentralized finance. Traders can now execute basis trades between CME futures and spot Solana markets, potentially narrowing spreads and reducing fragmentation across trading venues.

The introduction of standardized SOL futures on a regulated exchange creates powerful hedging tools for various market participants: Solana DeFi protocol developers can hedge treasury holdings, institutional investors can manage downside risk without selling underlying positions, and market makers can hedge inventory risk more efficiently.

CME's growth metrics in crypto trading – 73% volume increase and 55% higher open interest year-over-year – demonstrate accelerating institutional participation. The launch reinforces an important trend: traditional finance infrastructure continuing to embrace digital assets through familiar, regulated instruments rather than direct blockchain participation.

The parallel offering of both micro and standard contracts (25 SOL vs 500 SOL) is a sophisticated product design choice that addresses the barbell distribution of crypto market participants—giving precise hedging tools to both retail traders and large institutional players while potentially increasing overall market participation.

CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, pending regulatory review. Market participants will have the choice to trade both a micro-sized contract (25 SOL) and a larger-sized contract (500 SOL).

"With the launch of our new SOL futures contracts, we are responding to increasing client demand for a broader set of regulated products to manage cryptocurrency price risk," said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. "As Solana continues to evolve into the platform of choice for developers and investors, these new futures contracts will provide a capital-efficient tool to support their investment and hedging strategies."

CME Group SOL futures will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, which serves as a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of SOL and is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. London time.

SOL futures will join the company's crypto product suite that includes Bitcoin and Ether futures and options futures.. Year-to-date trading highlights include:

• Average daily volume of 202,000 contracts, up 73% year-over-year
• Average open interest of 243,600 contracts, up 55% year-over-year
• More than 11,300 unique accounts trading

"The launch of SOL futures is a significant milestone in the ongoing maturation of the cryptocurrency market," said Teddy Fusaro, President of Bitwise Asset Management, Inc. "This announcement underscores CME Group's commitment to and leadership in offering institutional investors and active traders advanced tools for trading and risk management. With the introduction of Bitcoin and Ether futures, CME Group paved the way for the broader institutionalization of crypto as an asset class and set the stage for more regulated financial products such as ETFs to enter the market. The addition of these new contracts further demonstrates CME Group's leadership and its continued role in shaping the evolution of this dynamic asset class."

"Multicoin Capital applauds CME Group's continued innovation in the digital asset space and is proud to support the launch of their SOL derivatives offering," said Kyle Samani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital. "As the digital asset market matures and demand continues to grow, sophisticated investors need better ways to get exposure and manage volatility. CME Group's new crypto derivatives provide just that, giving investors increased flexibility with less upfront capital."

"The new SOL futures contracts are further examples of CME Group innovating in the retail crypto trading space for the benefit of customers," said Elad Even-Chen, Group CFO of Plus500. "These contracts will bring a new dimension for retail futures traders and will help manage their cryptocurrency portfolios by allowing them to further diversify their holdings. We are proud to be supporting this latest product launch, which is based on scalable, well-established and trusted cryptocurrencies."

SOL futures will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME. For more information on these products, please visit: www.cmegroup.com/sol.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

CME-G

 

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

When will CME Group launch Solana (SOL) futures trading?

CME Group will launch Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, 2025, pending regulatory review.

What are the contract sizes for CME's new Solana futures?

CME will offer two contract sizes: a micro-sized contract of 25 SOL and a larger-sized contract of 500 SOL.

How has CME's cryptocurrency trading volume performed year-to-date?

CME's crypto trading shows 73% YoY growth with 202,000 contracts average daily volume and 55% increase in open interest to 243,600 contracts.

What reference rate will CME use for Solana futures settlement?

The futures will be cash-settled based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. London time.

What other cryptocurrency futures does CME currently offer?

CME Group offers Bitcoin and Ether futures and options futures as part of its crypto product suite.