The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group launched Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, 2025. The introduction of these futures follows a period of anticipation and preparation by the exchange, aimed at facilitating institutional adoption of the cryptocurrency. Prior to the official launch, digital asset prime broker FalconX, which has executed over $1.5 trillion in trading volume, completed the first-ever block trade for CME Group's Solana futures with StoneX as the counterparty on March 16, 2025. This transaction was designed to provide a means for managing risk and price exposure on a regulated venue. The launch of SOL futures is considered a precursor to potential Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with several asset management firms having filed applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for such products. The futures contracts are available in two sizes: standard contracts representing 500 SOL and micro contracts representing 25 SOL, and are cash-settled based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate. Meanwhile, Solana's price stands at $127, with its derivatives showing a 66% volume increase to $7.24 billion on centralized exchanges, and CME reporting a 73% increase in average daily volume to 202,000 contracts. To continue reading this as well as other DeFi and Web3 news, visit us at thedefiant.io