CME Group has introduced Spot-Quoted futures for and Solana , enhancing its range of crypto derivatives aimed at reflecting real-time market prices.
The new contracts replicate the format of CME’s existing Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether futures. Unlike conventional futures, which often trade with a premium or discount due to financing costs, Spot-Quoted contracts align directly with the spot price. Financing nuances are addressed separately at the time of settlement.
“There’s strong interest in our current Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether futures, with over 1.3 million contracts exchanged since their inception in June. We are excited to incorporate XRP and SOL into our portfolio,” stated CME Group’s Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products Giovanni Vicioso in a press release.
These represent CME’s smallest crypto contracts to date, designed for active traders who favor trading in spot market settings without navigating contract expirations or rollovers, Vicioso noted.
Since their debut in June, Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Ether contracts have been gaining traction, with over 1.3 million contracts exchanged and an average daily volume of 11,300 contracts, peaking at 60,700 contracts on November 24.
The contracts are listed on CME and CBOT and are available alongside major equity index futures.
Simultaneously, CME has enabled Trading at Settlement (TAS) for XRP, SOL, and their associated Micro futures. This capability allows traders to execute futures contracts at a spread relative to the 4:00 p.m. ET settlement price, prior to that price’s disclosure.
TAS is frequently utilized to manage risk around crypto ETFs, particularly during net asset value (NAV) creation or redemption. It also facilitates block trades and anonymous order book operations via CME Globex, granting traders more flexibility in execution methods and timings.
This initiative follows CME Group’s introduction of options for SOL, Micro SOL, XRP, and Micro XRP futures across daily, monthly, and quarterly expirations back in October.
