The Defiant 2025-03-17 17:30:20

CME Group Launches Solana Futures on March 17, 2025, Following FalconX's First Block Trade, Signaling ETF Precursor

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