Solana and XRP join Bitcoin and ETH with CME options

CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, officially launched CFTC-regulated options for Solana and XRP.

Institutional demand for major altcoins is growing. On Monday, Oct. 13, CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, officially launched options for Solana and XRP, fully regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Trading for Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) options is now live, giving institutional investors access to fully regulated derivatives on two of the most traded altcoins. The options are physically settled, available in both standard and micro sizes, and have daily, monthly, and quarterly expirations.

This means traders can now trade these altcoin options on the CME exchange in the same way they trade Bitcoin and Ethereum options. Until now, only SOL and XRP futures were available on the exchange.

Solana and XRP futures see strong volume

The move comes after CME obtained regulatory approval from the CFTC, and after Solana and XRP futures already amassed significant trading volume. This liquidity contributed to CME’s decision to expand investor access. What’s more, with the addition of options trading, activity for the two altcoins will likely increase.

In particular, since the launch of Solana futures in March, the platform facilitated trading of more than 540,000 contracts, with a notional value of $22.3 billion by September. On the other hand, there were 370,000 XRP contracts traded since May, with a notional value of $16.2 billion.

Blue-chip altcoins were among the first to bounce back after the $1 trillion crypto market wipeout. While CME announced expanding its options trading in September, it still signals growing institutional interest in these altcoins.