CME Group is expanding its cryptocurrency offerings with Solana futures scheduled to launch in March.
Updated Feb 28, 2025 17:07 UTC Published Feb 28, 2025 14:28 UTC
Key points:
- Solana (SOL) futures to launch March 17 after regulatory approval.
- Contracts will be cash settled and based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Indicative Rate.
- SOL futures join CME's range of crypto products, which includes derivatives on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives trading venue, is set to launch Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, expanding its range of cryptocurrency derivatives, it said in a press release on Friday. The new contracts, which are pending regulatory approval, will allow traders to manage SOL price risk with two contract sizes: 25 SOL and 500 SOL.
“With the introduction of new SOL futures contracts, we are responding to growing customer interest in a more diverse set of regulated products,” said Giovanni Viccioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group.
The contracts will be cash settled using the CME CF Solana-Dollar benchmark rate, which tracks the SOL price each day at 4pm London time. CME already offers Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, which have seen significant growth in trading volume. The company has reported an average daily volume of 202,000 contracts so far this year, up 73% from 2024.
Industry leaders see the move as a step toward broader institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. Teddy Fusaro, president of Bitwise Asset Management, noted that CME’s crypto derivatives have helped fuel the growth of regulated financial products like ETFs. Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital added that such products offer sophisticated investors more options for managing risk and probability.
As Solana gains popularity among developers and investors, the launch of SOL futures highlights the growing interest in regulated products in the cryptocurrency trading space. It could also help pave the way for SOL exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“CME’s decision to list SOL contracts today significantly increases the likelihood that related spot ETF applications may be approved in the near future,” said Sui Cheung, CEO of CF Benchmarks.
“While it is difficult to provide an exact timeline for approval, it is likely that the SEC will want to see several months of trading on the CME and ensure that the futures are correlated with the spot market before considering applications for an SOL ETF.”
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