CME Group to Launch Solana Futures on March 17, Expanding Crypto Derivatives
The world leader in derivatives, CME Group, is set to enhance its offerings with the introduction of Solana futures (SOL) on March 17th, pending regulatory approval. This new range of products aims to meet the growing demand from institutional investors for risk management tools in the crypto asset space. Following the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, CME Group is further solidifying its position in the crypto derivatives market.
Cash-Settled Contracts for Institutional Investors
The SOL futures contracts will be cash-settled and indexed to the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, which sets the daily price of Solana at 5:00 PM. Two contract sizes will be offered: 25 SOL and 500 SOL, providing flexibility tailored to the needs of both institutional and professional investors.
Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Crypto Products at CME Group, emphasized that this launch is in response to the growing demand for regulated products:
‘With these new SOL futures contracts, we are expanding our range to offer investors more risk management solutions.’
A Step Towards Strengthening Institutional Adoption
The arrival of Solana futures is seen as a strong signal towards integrating digital assets into traditional finance. For years, CME’s crypto derivatives have played a key role in the development of regulated financial products, including ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Teddy Fusaro, President of Bitwise Asset Management, notes that CME has paved the way for regulated financial products in crypto, facilitating their adoption by traditional investors. Kyle Samani, Co-Founder of Multicoin Capital, emphasizes the importance of these instruments in providing more sophisticated hedging and exposure solutions.
Towards a Solana ETF?
This launch could also pave the way for the approval of a Solana ETF in the United States. Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, believes that the listing of SOL futures significantly strengthens this possibility:
‘CME’s decision to list SOL contracts today increases the likelihood of a spot Solana ETF being approved in the near future.’
However, the SEC may require several months of trading in the futures market to evaluate the correlation between derivative contracts and the spot market before giving its approval.
Growing Institutional Demand
CME Group recently announced a 73% increase in average daily volume of its crypto contracts compared to 2024, with 202,000 contracts traded each day. The rising interest in these products highlights the growing prominence of digital assets among major investors, who are seeking regulated and reliable tools to manage their exposure to the crypto market.
