- CME will start near 24/7 crypto derivatives trading, including XRP contracts, on May 29.
- XRP futures have reached $62.87B in notional volume since CME launched them in May 2025.
- Analysts say XRP futures activity is rising as ETF holdings and XRPL adoption expands.
CME Group will begin nearly round-the-clock trading for its regulated crypto futures and options from May 29. The expanded schedule includes XRP futures, options on XRP futures, and Micro XRP contracts.
The change moves CME’s crypto derivatives market closer to the always-open structure of digital asset spot markets. Trading will continue through weekends, except for a two-hour weekly maintenance window.
CME Extends XRP Derivatives Trading Hours
The exchange said weekend trades will carry the following business day’s trade date. That detail applies to clearing, reporting, and related operational processes. Implementation remains subject to regulatory review.
CME is the world’s largest derivatives exchange. Its decision gives institutional traders longer access to regulated crypto products during periods when spot markets remain active.
The change may also reduce the gap between Friday closing prices and Sunday reopening levels. That weekend gap has often created price dislocations between derivatives and spot markets.
XRP is one of the main assets included in the expanded schedule. CME launched XRP futures on May 19, 2025. Since launch, XRP futures have generated about $62.87 billion in cumulative notional volume. More than 1.3 million XRP futures contracts have traded during that period.
CME added options on XRP futures on October 13, 2025. It later introduced spot-quoted XRP futures on December 15, 2025. The wider CME crypto futures suite also recorded strong activity in 2025.
The exchange reported $3 trillion in cumulative notional volume across its crypto futures products that year. However, in 2026, year-to-date average daily volume for crypto futures reached 407,200 contracts. That marked a 46% increase from the previous year.
XRP Futures Activity Rises as ETF Holdings Grow
However, market analysts have also noted increased activity in XRP futures. Analyst CW said in an X post that upward pressure in the XRP futures market was rising.
Source: X
The analyst said short positions were closing while net long buying was increasing. That pattern suggests stronger demand from traders positioning for further movement.
Other analysts have linked XRP demand to broader ecosystem activity. Analyst Bank XRP said U.S. spot ETFs now hold 775.4 million XRP, equal to about 1.3% of circulating supply.
Source: X
The analyst added that institutional holdings increased 2% in the latest quarter, with firms including Canary, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares tied to the growing product pipeline.
However, analysts cited stablecoins, real-world assets, and ETF-related integrations as areas contributing to value capture on the network. Security work around artificial intelligence, formal verification, and quantum readiness has also been highlighted.
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