CME Group makes another move: ADA, LINK, XLM futures to launch in February

CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, continues to expand its cryptocurrency footprint, officially announcing the upcoming launch of futures contracts for three tokens: Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM). This move is widely regarded by the market as a key signal for these three cryptocurrencies to enter the spot ETF market. The new contracts are expected to go live on February 9 and are currently awaiting regulatory approval.

Three Major Cryptocurrencies Welcome Derivatives Opportunities

The futures contracts introduced are carefully designed for investors of different scales, offering both standard and micro contracts. Among them, Cardano (ADA) standard contracts are for 100,000 coins, micro contracts for 10,000 coins; Chainlink (LINK) standard contracts are for 5,000 coins, micro contracts for 250 coins; Stellar (XLM) standard contracts are for 250,000 coins, micro contracts for 12,500 coins.

This multi-tiered contract structure aims to meet the differentiated needs of retail and institutional investors. Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME, stated: “Given the strong growth of the cryptocurrency market over the past year, investors are actively seeking trusted, regulated tools to hedge against price volatility. Through flexible and diverse contract configurations, market participants will be able to allocate assets more efficiently with higher capital efficiency.”

Multi-Tiered Contracts to Meet Different Investors

According to the latest market data, Cardano (ADA) has a circulating market cap of $13.39 billion, ranking as the 12th largest cryptocurrency globally; Chainlink (LINK), as a leading oracle service provider, has a circulating market cap of approximately $8.83 billion; Stellar (XLM), focused on cross-border payments, has a circulating market cap of about $6.92 billion. These three tokens each have unique features, representing the development directions of DeFi foundational layers, data service layers, and payment settlement layers respectively.

CME’s launch of futures linked to these three tokens is undoubtedly a recognition of their market pricing transparency. More importantly, it reflects the confidence of the world’s top derivatives exchange in the maturity of these project ecosystems.

The Essential Path Toward Spot ETFs

Looking back at CME’s development in the crypto space, this path has proven to be highly indicative. Bitcoin and Ethereum first established mature futures markets on CME, which later successfully paved the way for the US spot ETF era. Since launching Bitcoin futures in 2017, CME has gradually expanded its product line to include Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL) futures, and options on futures.

This mature market development model indicates that the first-mover advantage in derivatives often lays the foundation for improved spot market mechanisms and regulatory approval. Therefore, the launch of ADA, LINK, and XLM futures is very likely to become an important milestone for these tokens to enter mainstream financial markets.

Mature Ecosystem Supports Market Growth

By 2025, CME’s cryptocurrency futures and options trading volume reached new highs. The average daily trading volume was 278,300 contracts, corresponding to a nominal value of about $12 billion; the average open interest was 313,900 contracts, with a nominal value of approximately $26.4 billion. These figures fully reflect the continued support from traditional financial institutions and professional investors for the crypto derivatives market.

Through continuous introduction of new futures contracts, CME is gradually building a comprehensive derivatives ecosystem covering mainstream crypto assets. This systematic market development not only provides investors with more risk hedging tools but also offers strong support for the regulated development of the entire crypto market.