Giovanni Vicioso

The move is expected to provide market participants with greater choice, with options between trading both a micro-sized contract (2,500 XRP) and a larger-sized contract (50,000 XRP). 

Launch is scheduled for 19 May 2025, pending regulatory approval, and follows increased demand for regulated digital asset derivatives within the industry.   

Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group said: “Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption for the network grows, and we are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies.” 

Read more – CME Group to launch Solana futures in March 

The XRP futures will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, which serves as a once-a-day reference rate of the US XRP dollar price, calculated at 16:00 GMT daily.  

The new XRP futures will join the company’s crypto product suite containing bitcoin and ether futures and options and follows the development of CME’s Solana (SOL) futures, of which 43,000 have been traded since the product was launched on 17 March 2025.  

XRP futures are also set to be brought to Robinhood, in a push to expand retail access to futures trading.  

JB Mackenzie, vice president and general manager of futures and international at Robinhood said: “Our customers have shown a deep interest in digital assets, and they will soon be able to access an even wider variety of crypto futures to complement Robinhood’s existing spot crypto offerings.” 

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Futures and options are among the world’s most liquid markets, where traders, investors, producers, banks and institutions turn to discover prices, pursue opportunities and manage risk on everything from interest rates, equities, foreign exchange, and commodities. 

For our clients, this is a time of unparalleled uncertainty where risk is widespread – everything from constant macro-economic shifts to rapid geopolitical change and extreme weather events. Exchange-traded derivatives play a vital role in helping institutions worldwide manage these risks in regulated markets.    

As the head of EMEA for CME Group, I’m focused on our diverse client base in the region where use of our products is expanding rapidly as clients respond to global and regional risks. In February, we saw 7 million contracts traded daily from this region, a 17% increase from last year. Clients here face a more complex interest rate environment. As a result, we’re seeing increased participation, particularly from hedge funds and asset managers. 

With increased market volatility, how can traders and institutions effectively use derivatives to hedge risks?  

Futures and options are designed to help clients efficiently manage risk in any market scenario, but they’re particularly critical in volatile markets. This year, market participants have been active across all asset classes. US Treasury volumes have surged as market participants assess inflation and US debt issuance. FX futures and options volumes have risen with significant dollar movements against major currencies, and open interest has hit record highs.   

Traders and institutions need products that trade around the clock, around the world, as it allows them to respond to news and manage risk in real time no matter their location. For example, after the US election results, we saw over 865,000 equity index options traded before the US equity markets opened as investors responded to the results. Similarly, on 27 January, during a tech stock sell-off, over 750,000 contracts traded outside of US market hours. 

Given the growth of digital asset derivatives, what do you expect the future of regulated crypto futures and options to look? 

Digital assets are evolving into a more mature and resilient asset class. We see increased institutional trading in our products and the deployment of sophisticated trading strategies. Exchange-traded derivatives are now an essential component of price discovery, providing a regulated and transparent market with standardised reference rates. 

February was a record month for CME’s cryptocurrency products, with an average of 221,000 contracts traded each day, up over 200% year on year. Looking ahead, we’re excited to be expanding our offering beyond Bitcoin and Ether with the launch of Solana futures this month. 

What key advancements are being implemented in the derivatives space to enhance market efficiency? 

Futures and options are highly efficient instruments, which is why they are so widely used across the trading ecosystem. However, all our clients face significant capital constraints driven by regulatory requirements or the need to deliver risk-adjusted returns in highly uncertain times.  

It is a significant benefit for clients to be able to offset related positions when calculating margin requirements. We’ve expanded the range of savings available, for example by expanding our cross-margining programme with the FICC to enable more buy-side market participants trading US Treasury futures to benefit directly from these natural offsets. 

We also see clients transitioning positions from OTC to exchange listed products because of the ever-changing regulatory treatment of capital – from SA-CCR to uncleared margin rules, to the recent changes in the G-SIB calculations. This has led to increased usage of products that help clients move positions easily between OTC and listed products. 

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Laura Klimpel, Suzanne Sprague

Expected to expand by December, subject to regulatory approval, this proposed enhancement will enable eligible end user clients at CME Group and the Government Securities Division (GSD) of DTCC’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) to access capital efficiencies available when trading US Treasury securities and CME Group interest rate futures that have offsetting risk exposures.  

To access end-user cross margining, clients will need to leverage the same dually registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and broker or dealer – as registered with the SEC – at both CCPs.  

Aligning enhanced cross-margining for end-user customers with the regulatory timeline for expanded US Treasury Clearing requirements aims to increase the usage of central clearing, which the firms expect to reduce systemic risk. 

“Bringing the benefits of cross-margining to the end-user is a critical step in enhancing capital efficiencies across US Treasury market participants,” said Laura Klimpel, managing director and head of DTCC’s fixed income and financing solutions.  

“Our ongoing collaboration with CME Group remains focused on extending cross-margin benefits to more customer accounts and eventually, to other products. Doing so will enable even greater efficiency, cost reduction, improved liquidity and increased risk management in the US Treasury markets.” 

Read more: A look into the centrally cleared future 

The proposed arrangement will see FICC designate cross-margin accounts, enabling eligible positions in the account to offset with eligible CME Group interest rate futures. 

Participants will also be enabled to direct futures to end-user cross-margin accounts throughout the day, making them available for offset in the cross-margin arrangement. 

The firms added that ahead of the regulatory approvals, end-users can work to set up a new account, complete proper program legal documentation and test end-to-end workflows. 

“Extending our cross-margining agreement to client accounts is an important milestone in our efforts to make US Treasury markets more efficient for all market users,” said Suzanne Sprague, CME Group chief operating officer and global head of clearing and post-trade services.  

“Building on more than 20 years of partnership, we look forward to working with DTCC and regulators to deliver even greater benefits to both cash and futures market participants.” 

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Giovanni Vicioso

The launch – which represents be the first CME Group cryptocurrency options to be financially settled – is subject to regulatory approval. 

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group global head of cryptocurrency products, said: “We are pleased to offer these new options that provide traders with even greater precision to manage short-term bitcoin price risk.

“Building on the success of our Bitcoin Friday futures, the smaller size of these contracts, along with daily expiries, offer market participants a capital-efficient toolset to effectively adjust their bitcoin exposure.”

These financially settled options complement CME Group’s existing suite of physically settled options on bitcoin, ether, micro bitcoin and micro ether futures, according to the firm.

To date, bitcoin Friday futures are CME Group’s most successful cryptocurrency product launch, with more than 775,000 contracts traded since launch and an average daily volume of 9,700 contracts.

“As a major liquidity provider in the digital asset derivatives space, we see CME Group’s introduction of options on bitcoin Friday futures as a timely, important addition to the market,” said Jason Urban, global head of trading at Galaxy.

“These contracts offer a flexible and cost-effective way for our trading desk to optimise risk management and provide tailored solutions to our counterparties navigating bitcoin price volatility.”

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Across the market, participants are keen for a term rate anchored in €STR markets, said the firm.

The rates will be published in tenors of one, three, six, and 12 months and are based on CME Group’s liquid €STR futures and OTC swap market data. 

“We are introducing €STR term rates in response to client demand for a more robust and transparent term rate for the growing €STR ecosystem,” said Max Ruscher, head of benchmark services, CME Group. 

“Building on the increasing liquidity in our €STR futures market and OTC trade data, our term rate is based on comprehensive derivatives transactions data that will help clients build lending and fixed income products.” 

Read more: CME Group set to launch €STR options in Q1 2024

Since the launch in October 2022, more than 5 million €STR futures contracts have been, said the firm.

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The new offering will allow buy-side participants to use existing OTC workflows on Digital Vega’s multi-bank platform Medusa to request quotes and trade blocks of FX options on futures. 

“Enabling customers to negotiate and trade risk-transfer blocks via Digital Vega’s Medusa platform is an exciting development in the electronification of the FX options market,” said Chris Povey, executive director and head of FX options at CME Group. 

“This partnership lowers the barriers to entry for buy-side clients looking to gain the margin and operational benefits of our centrally cleared FX options by allowing them to use existing OTC workflows and lean on OTC relationships. In addition, clients could gain access to new liquidity given there is no requirement for bilateral credit relationships.”

Digital Vega’s connectivity, GUI and workflow technology will be leveraged by users to request prices in CME Group’s centrally cleared FX options from multiple liquidity providers in competition. 

These options can be more margin efficient versus traditional OTC options for those subject to uncleared margin rules, claimed the two firms in a statement.

Read more: UMR Phase 6: The time to prepare is yesterday

 “Our new service provides liquidity access for more clients and market makers to trade with each other without having to establish new bilateral credit agreements, which we expect will result in increased liquidity for the market as a whole,” said Mark Suter, executive chairman and co-founder at Digital Vega.

“We are encouraging clients to onboard to this service now so that they can fully test the system before they begin trading.”

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Giovanni Vicioso

The move is set to leverage the opportunities of a Friday expiry which allows these contracts to closely track the spot price of bitcoin. In addition, the offering is set to help investors mitigate weekend price moves. 

Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group, said: “With these weekly expiring smaller-sized contracts, investors of all sizes – from institutions to sophisticated, active retail traders – will be able to more accurately fine-tune their bitcoin exposure on a regulated exchange.

“By settling to the BRRNY, the benchmark used by leading spot bitcoin ETFs, traders will also benefit from growing liquidity and the ability to more efficiently capture market moves during US hours.”

The new weekly futures contracts are sized at one fiftieth of a bitcoin and will be cash settled to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY) at 4pm EDT every Friday.

According to CME Group, a new BFF contract will be listed every Thursday at 6pm EDT/EST for a Friday trade date. Market participants will be able to trade the nearest two Fridays at any given point.

“We are pleased to support CME Group’s launch of these new weekly expiring bitcoin futures contracts and further expand the low-cost products available to our clients,” asserted Steve Sanders, EVP of marketing and product development at Interactive Brokers. 

“With a shorter duration and smaller-sized contract, Bitcoin Friday futures will offer our active trader and institutional investor clients a flexible and cost-effective new way to manage their bitcoin exposure in a transparent market.”

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Terry Duffy

The plan is to build a new private Google Cloud region to support CME Group’s global trading, offering derivatives traders access to “cloud-based, ultra-low-latency networking and high-performance computing”.

According to the businesses the specialised platform for capital markets is an industry first, with development already underway beginning with customer testing in the Dallas Google Cloud region. Ultimately, this will become the disaster recovery facility for the Illinois offering. 

Construction is slated for later this year, with CME Group having already confirmed to its clients that an 18-month notice will be provided prior to the exchange moving its markets to the new platform.

Speaking to The TRADE earlier this year, Rohit Bhat, Google Cloud’s managing director for capital markets, exchanges, and digital assets, explained that one of Google’s key focus points was around these deeper collaborations with institutions that represent the value chain of capital markets, with the final aim of playing a part in the future development of the industry.

“There’s a real opportunity to move the needle on how these markets will evolve over the next decade or even next two decades […] Our approach is truly around collaborating directly with the players that can make a difference in this particular space of financial services. 
 
“[…] We’re here not for the value that’s going to come in 2024 only. Our investments are thoughtful enough to go farther out to multi decade.”

Read more: As cloud adoption across the market continues to rise, is the shift of liquidity itself next to follow?

The Chicago location is set to allow CME Group’s clients to utilise existing connectivity options for other global markets.

Clients can decide whether to opt for self-managed infrastructure in the co-location facility or Google Cloud’s specialised infrastructure-as-a-service offering. Both have equal network latency to the exchange.

Users are set to benefit from expanded flexibility, strengthened operational efficiencies, and increased access to cloud services, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Terry Duffy, CME Group chair and chief executive, said: “Google Cloud’s new specialised platform will extend the benefits we can provide to our clients through next-generation cloud technology, expanded access and efficiencies, a broader range of customised connectivity options, and faster product development, with minimal disruption to their current operations.”

CME Group and Google Cloud have been in partnership since 2021, with recent work having been made to enhance CME Group’s cloud-based data platform and migration of critical clearing applications to the cloud.

The businesses struck a 10-year deal in November 2021 to partner and move the exchange’s trading systems to the cloud (with Google at the same time, separately, investing a billion dollars in the business).

“Our latest milestone with CME Group builds on our shared goal to accelerate CME’s move to the cloud and innovate capital markets infrastructure worldwide,” asserted Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud.

“Through our collaboration, we’re harnessing the best of cloud computing, data analytics, and AI, while respecting the existing custom hardware requirements of market participants to bring low latency, deterministic, and scalable trading environments to CME Group customers and the broader financial markets.”

Recent times have seen a swathe of investments from major cloud providers into leading exchanges. Over the last three to four years significant investments have been made, and long-term partnerships forged across the market.

In 2020, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) completed a proof of concept with Amazon to build a cloud-native exchange, whilst Deutsche Bank signed an innovation partnership with Google Cloud the same year. Following this, in November 2021, Amazon (AWS) and Nasdaq signed a multi-year agreement aimed at jointly fostering a new cloud-based market infrastructure and migrating every exchange to the cloud by 2028.

More recently, Microsoft and the London Stock Exchange launched a 10-year strategic partnership back in December 2022 also focused on developing cloud infrastructure solutions, whilst in February last year, Google Cloud officially became Deutsche Börse Groups’ preferred cloud partner for the next decade.

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US corporate bonds began trading yesterday, 20 May, with the remaining products expected to be live by the end of next month. CME Group’s US credit futures will begin trading on 17 June.

Adding US Euro and Sterling corporate bonds and MBS on BrokerTec Quote creates a fuller product suite with US and Euro repo on all major government bonds that currently trade on the platform.

From launch, clients will have the ability to orchestrate their risk management and fixed income financing needs from one platform.

BrokerTec’s dealer-to-dealer (D2D) central limit order book (CLOB) repo platform transacted $600 billion average daily notional volume (ADNV) of repo last year.

“In today’s dynamic and complex financial landscape, navigating the fixed income markets for mortgages and credit presents unique challenges for clients who need sophisticated tools to manage their exposure and achieve their financing needs,” said John Edwards, global head of BrokerTec.

“We have been actively expanding BrokerTec Quote to cover repo on all major government bond markets in recent years. The addition of corporate bonds and MBS is a natural complement to our core offering and follows significant demand from clients.”

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The derivatives marketplace initially launched the first €STR futures on 31 October 2022, as a complement to SOFR futures.

Order book depth was recently increased by CME Group by 79%, alongside reducing bid-ask spreads by 31% and facilitating the final settlement of the €STR market’s largest ever futures expiration totalling over 14,000 contracts last month.

“Our new €STR options will help clients more precisely manage their risk as expectations around European interest rate decisions continue to shift,” said Mark Rogerson, EMEA head of interest rate products at CME Group.

“This launch is the next step in the development of our robust €STR marketplace and builds on the growing liquidity and participation in our €STR futures.”

Last month, CME Group revealed plans to expand its interest rate complex with the launch of US corporate bond index futures in summer 2024, subject to regulatory review.

The new futures contracts will be based on the Bloomberg US corporate index and the Bloomberg US high yield very liquid index.

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