CME Group, the largest derivatives exchange in the U.S., began trading futures on XRP on Sunday.

On its first day, it pulled in more than $19 million in notional volume, a far bigger debut than Solana, which turned $12.3 million in March.

XRP is now the fourth cryptocurrency in CME's futures contracts after Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. For traders, futures contracts are offered at two sizes: micro (2,500 XRP per contract) and standard (50,000 XRP per contract).

CME's XRP futures will be cash settled, meaning when traders close out their positions, they will be paid in U.S. Dollars instead of XRP.

According to Giovanni Vicioso, CME's global head of cryptocurrency products, this addition "will give investors access to the deeply liquid, capital-efficient tools they need to support their growing cryptocurrency investment and hedging strategies."

A futures contract permits investors to speculate on the future value of an asset, without taking ownership of it.

Traders can benefit if the price of XRP goes up or down based on their position, without even owning XRP in the first place. This differs from spot trading, whereby an investor buys or sells the actual asset at the prevailing market price.

Futures have a popular following among both institutional investors and traders looking to hedge risk, provide exposure, and leverage bets.

XRP's strong futures launch comes at a time, given that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on spot submissions for XRP and Solana ETF proposals.

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