XRP futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has captured market attention, pulling in nearly $30 million since its debut — a development stirring optimism about a future spot XRP ETF in the U.S. market.
Launched on May 18, CME’s XRP futures saw a substantial first-day performance with notional trading volumes surpassing $19 million. The momentum continued in the following session with at least $10 million traded on Tuesday, underlining the market’s growing appetite for institutional-grade XRP investment products.
The inaugural transaction was a significant block trade cleared by Hidden Road, marking a strong start to CME’s latest crypto derivatives offering. Investors can now choose between two contract sizes: a standard futures contract that represents 50,000 XRP, and a micro contract representing 2,500 XRP. Both product types are cash-settled and priced according to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which is updated daily at 15:00 UTC.
Breaking down the early activity, standard XRP futures handled approximately 7.5 million XRP in volume on launch day and recorded a further 2.95 million XRP traded the following day. Meanwhile, smaller-scale participants engaged with micro contracts, trading roughly 517,000 XRP on Monday and pushing that figure to at least 1.2 million XRP on Tuesday.
This strong performance has further fueled hopes across the crypto investment community that the launch of certified and regulated XRP derivatives could pave the way for the approval of a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States — an advancement that investors and market analysts have long been anticipating.
According to Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, the development has brought XRP one step closer to becoming the center of a regulated ETF product. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Geraci confidently stated, “Spot XRP ETFs only a matter of time.”
The emerging optimism around an XRP spot ETF mirrors the patterns observed in other cryptocurrency markets, where the introduction of futures contracts on regulated platforms like CME has historically preceded spot ETF applications and eventual approvals. For example, Bitcoin and Ethereum both saw futures traded on CME before gaining significant momentum toward ETF offerings in the U.S.
However, despite the buzzing futures momentum, XRP’s spot market price remained relatively stable. The token hovered near $2.38 with only a modest increase of 0.42% over the 24-hour period. This suggests futures interest may be more reflective of investor positioning or speculative hedge activity rather than direct price speculation on the spot asset — a common pattern in early-stage institutional crypto products.
This development is a clear testament to the increasing institutional support for Ripple’s XRP, which has faced significant legal and regulatory scrutiny in recent years. The availability of CME-listed futures not only increases investor accessibility but also signals growing acceptance of XRP within the mainstream financial landscape.
Looking ahead, all eyes are now on the SEC and potential ETF filings. While no formal applications for a spot XRP ETF have been announced publicly to date, market participants remain hopeful that CME’s futures volume and strong institutional engagement will serve as compelling factors in favor of future regulatory consideration.
Whether or not the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a spot XRP ETF soon remains uncertain, but the current trend suggests that momentum toward such investment products is building rapidly.
