Key Takeaways
- • CME Group reported nearly $3T in notional cryptocurrency futures and options trading for 2025, with average daily volume more than doubling to 280K contracts ($12B) and average daily open interest reaching 313K contracts ($26B).
- • Q4 2025 average daily volume rose 92% year over year and open interest more than doubled versus Q4 2024, as participants moved to regulated platforms.
- • Large open interest holders reached a record 1,039 on October 21, signaling a broader institutional participant base.
- • Ether and Micro Ether open interest hit an all-time high of 545K contracts on November 28, while Solana and XRP suites set multiple records, including $37.7B traded in SOL futures and options.
- • CME plans to launch Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures on February 9, 2026, pending regulatory review, alongside 24/7 crypto trading and the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index.
Summary
CME Group marked two anniversaries in its latest crypto review: nine years since the launch of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) in November 2016, and eight years since the launch of Bitcoin futures in 2017. The company says the BRR underpins its derivatives market and the majority of crypto ETFs, and that its Bitcoin futures franchise now includes more than 20 futures and options.
CME reported that its crypto suite expanded substantially in 2025, facilitating nearly $3T notional in cryptocurrency futures and options trading. Average daily volume more than doubled to 280K contracts ($12B), and average daily open interest climbed to 313K contracts ($26B). In Q4 alone, average daily volume rose 92% and open interest grew more than 100% from Q4 2024. Q4 average daily volume was 378.5K contracts ($12.7B notional) and average daily open interest was 470.4K contracts ($30.7B notional), according to the report's figures. By product, Ether futures (ETH) average daily open interest rose 256% year over year, while Bitcoin futures (BTC) volume and open interest declined 25% and 27%, respectively.
Ether reinforced its position as a core institutional holding, with combined open interest for ETH and Micro Ether futures reaching an all-time high of 545K contracts on November 28. Solana and XRP products also set records: SOL futures and options traded $37.7B with record average daily volume of $590M, and open interest peaked at $2.25B on October 29. XRP futures and options reached open interest of nearly $1.5B on October 28 and traded $21.5B in total. CME launched regulated options on SOL and XRP on October 13.
In December, CME expanded its Spot-Quoted futures (SQF) suite, launching Spot-Quoted XRP and SOL on December 15. Spot-Quoted Bitcoin (QBTC) futures traded over 1M contracts in December, with a single-day record of 128K contracts ($107M+ notional) on December 30.
Looking ahead, CME cited the recent launch of the CME CF Bitcoin Volatility Index (BVX) and its settlement rate (BVXS), expanded Trading at Settlement to Micro Bitcoin, a pipeline of Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures slated for February 9 pending regulatory review, and the upcoming Nasdaq CME Crypto Index and a move toward 24/7 crypto trading. The publication notes that its examples are hypothetical and that the content does not constitute investment or legal advice.
CME reported that its crypto suite expanded substantially in 2025, facilitating nearly $3T notional in cryptocurrency futures and options trading. Average daily volume more than doubled to 280K contracts ($12B), and average daily open interest climbed to 313K contracts ($26B). In Q4 alone, average daily volume rose 92% and open interest grew more than 100% from Q4 2024. Q4 average daily volume was 378.5K contracts ($12.7B notional) and average daily open interest was 470.4K contracts ($30.7B notional), according to the report's figures. By product, Ether futures (ETH) average daily open interest rose 256% year over year, while Bitcoin futures (BTC) volume and open interest declined 25% and 27%, respectively.
Ether reinforced its position as a core institutional holding, with combined open interest for ETH and Micro Ether futures reaching an all-time high of 545K contracts on November 28. Solana and XRP products also set records: SOL futures and options traded $37.7B with record average daily volume of $590M, and open interest peaked at $2.25B on October 29. XRP futures and options reached open interest of nearly $1.5B on October 28 and traded $21.5B in total. CME launched regulated options on SOL and XRP on October 13.
In December, CME expanded its Spot-Quoted futures (SQF) suite, launching Spot-Quoted XRP and SOL on December 15. Spot-Quoted Bitcoin (QBTC) futures traded over 1M contracts in December, with a single-day record of 128K contracts ($107M+ notional) on December 30.
Looking ahead, CME cited the recent launch of the CME CF Bitcoin Volatility Index (BVX) and its settlement rate (BVXS), expanded Trading at Settlement to Micro Bitcoin, a pipeline of Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures slated for February 9 pending regulatory review, and the upcoming Nasdaq CME Crypto Index and a move toward 24/7 crypto trading. The publication notes that its examples are hypothetical and that the content does not constitute investment or legal advice.
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