The official launch of XRP futures by CME Group marks a significant step forward in bringing this altcoin closer to institutional investors.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has recently commented on the launch of XRP futures on the CME exchange, calling it a major leap forward in institutional involvement with the XRP token.
Earlier today, CME Group officially began trading XRP futures (including both standard and micro contracts) after months of anticipation. With this move, institutional investors can now gain exposure to one of the leading altcoins without the need to directly hold the token.
XRP futures allow investors to trade outright by simply buying or selling contracts. Alternatively, they can enter into agreements to trade at a fixed price based on the index’s daily closing value, rather than the current market price.
Notably, XRP can also be traded through block trades, a format that enables large investors to execute high-volume transactions. Garlinghouse revealed that Hidden Road — a prime brokerage firm acquired by Ripple earlier this year for $1.25 billion — executed the very first block trade when the futures went live.
Despite the high expectations, XRP has declined nearly 4% over the past 24 hours. This limited price movement isn’t entirely surprising, given that the futures launch was initially announced back in April.
Investors are now closely watching the trading volume on XRP’s first day, as it will be a key indicator of institutional interest. Previously, Solana’s CME futures debut in March saw modest volume and had little impact on the altcoin’s price movement.
