Spokesperson clarifies no official plans for SOL and XRP futures after CME leak

After a leaked page detailed Solana and XRP futures on CME, a spokesperson confirmed that it was an early mock-up and no official plans have been finalized yet.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a global leader in derivatives trading, may be gearing up to introduce futures contracts for Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) as early as Feb. 10, according to a leaked page from their beta website. While the page was quickly removed, it detailed key specifications for the contracts.

However, Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that a CME spokesperson described the beta website as a draft environment used for mock-ups, which was mistakenly made public. 

“No official decisions have yet been made about launching futures contracts for either token,” the spokesperson clarified.

James Seyffart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, commented on the leak, stating, “Honestly, it makes sense and is largely to be expected if true.”

According to the leaked details, the futures contracts for both Solana and XRP would be available in standard and micro sizes.

Solana’s standard contracts would feature a 500 SOL lot size, with micro contracts reduced to 25 SOL. Similarly, XRP’s standard futures contracts would involve 50,000 XRP per lot, with micro contracts sized at 2,500 XRP.

All contracts are expected to settle in U.S. dollars, making them convenient for institutional players wary of dealing with direct crypto settlements.

The reelection of Donald Trump and the resignation of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler have led to renewed optimism among investors, with firms racing to bring products like Solana and XRP ETFs to market.

ProShares, for example, submitted a Solana futures ETF application on Jan. 17, while WisdomTree filed for an XRP ETF in December 2024. Other firms, including Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary Capital, are also vying to introduce various ETFs.

Seyffart noted that the availability of Solana futures on CME could address questions about whether the current Solana futures market—dominated by Coinbase—has the necessary liquidity for such products. “I’m not sure if the Coinbase SOL futures are large and liquid enough,” Seyffart remarked in an earlier tweet.