CME Group is set to broaden its regulated cryptocurrency derivatives offering by adding futures contracts linked to several major altcoins, marking another step toward deeper institutional and retail adoption of digital assets in the United States.
The Chicago-based exchange said on Thursday that it plans to launch futures tied to Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar on February 9, subject to regulatory approval. The move reflects rising demand for regulated crypto products as investor interest expands beyond bitcoin and ether.
If approved, the new contracts would extend CME’s crypto derivatives suite regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The exchange already offers futures and options linked to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana, and said the latest additions are designed to meet growing demand from market participants seeking broader digital asset exposure.
CME plans to list both standard and micro futures for each of the three altcoins. Contract sizes will range from 10,000 to 100,000 ADA, 250 to 5,000 LINK, and 12,500 to 250,000 XLM. Futures contracts allow traders to gain price exposure or hedge risk without holding the underlying tokens, while the inclusion of micro contracts suggests a focus on accessibility for retail traders, depending on broker support.
Martin Franchi, chief executive of NinjaTrader, said digital assets are reaching a “global inflection point” as they become more integrated into investment portfolios. He added that the planned listings highlight increasing retail demand for regulated crypto futures and a wider range of product choices.
The announcement follows a recent collaboration between CME Group and the Nasdaq to align their crypto benchmarks. The Nasdaq Crypto Index was rebranded as the Nasdaq–CME Crypto Index, which tracks prices of bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana, chainlink, cardano and avalanche.
CME’s move comes as the U.S. crypto futures market remains largely concentrated around bitcoin and ether, with only gradual expansion into other digital assets during 2025. Coinbase offers CFTC-regulated bitcoin and ether futures through its Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, while Kraken provides U.S. clients access to CME-listed crypto futures via its domestic derivatives platform.
Elsewhere, derivatives exchange Bitnomial has taken a more direct route into altcoins, launching CFTC-regulated futures tied to XRP earlier this year and recently introducing regulated monthly futures linked to the Aptos token, initially available to institutional investors.
