CME Group has announced it is launching Solana futures, which is being hailed as the latest inflection point for institutional crypto adoption.
SOL futures will settle to a regulated reference rate provided by CF Benchmarks. CME Group SOL futures will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, CF Benchmarks’ a once-a-day reference price of the dollar price of SOL, which is calculated daily at 1600 London time.
SOL futures are only the third cryptoasset with contracts available for trade on the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, alongside CME Bitcoin and Ether futures and options. This underlines the significance of the launch of CME Solana futures for both the crypto market and CME itself, which has stated its decision to introduce SOL was based on increasing client demand.
The CME SOL futures represent the latest inflection point for institutional crypto adoption, as they provide large investors and capital markets participants with new CFTC-regulated tools for risk management and trading in relation to SOL, for the first time.
CME Group’s Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, Giovanni Vicioso said:
“As Solana continues to evolve into the platform of choice for developers and investors, these new futures contracts will provide a capital-efficient tool to support their investment and hedging strategies.”
The CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate (SOLUSD_RR) aggregates trade data from multiple Solana-USD markets operated only by major cryptocurrency exchanges that conform to CF Benchmarks’ rigorous regulatory requirements. This group are known as CME CF Constituent Exchanges.
SOLUSD_RR has been calculated every day since its launch on 25th April, 2022. It is a Registered Benchmark under the UK FCA’s Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) framework, meaning that it is objectively verified to be in conformance with independent standards of accuracy, reliability, governance, and resistance to manipulation.
