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Institutional investors flock to CME Group’s regulated crypto derivatives markets, setting record numbers across futures and ether-linked options Solana and XRP, CME told CoinDesk on Thursday.
Since Oct. 10, open interest in CME’s crypto futures and options has risen 27%, a surge the exchange attributes to a move away from offshore markets following last week’s wave of liquidations.
On Tuesday, open interest in ETH futures reached 48,600 contracts – an all-time high – while SOL and XRP futures also hit all-time highs of 20,700 and 10,100 contracts, respectively.
Open interest in options reached $9 billion, another record that underscores how more traders are using CME products to hedge or speculate on regulated instruments instead of offshore alternatives. CME Micro Ether futures were second in volume on Tuesday, reflecting the broader shift.
“The first 10 [open interest] All days in October demonstrated strong conviction and expanding participation in the regulated crypto derivatives market,” said a CME spokesperson, highlighting growing market participation and growing confidence among professional investors.
This trend builds on CME’s Q3 results, which saw combined crypto futures and options volume exceed $900 billion and average daily open interest reach $31.3 billion. Notional open interest peaked at $39 billion in September. More than 1,000 large open bidders were active during this period, indicating that the use of these products is expanding beyond a narrow circle of traders.
This growth is not limited to Bitcoin or Ether. Since launching earlier this year, CME’s salt and XRP futures have attracted considerable attention. Solana futures surpassed $2.1 billion in open interest by September, while XRP reached $1.4 billion.
