CME plans Feb. 9 launch of Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures

CME Group said it will list futures contracts tied to Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar on Feb. 9, pending regulatory approval, offering both standard and micro contract sizes.

Standard Cardano futures will be sized at 100,000 Cardano per contract, with micro futures at 10,000 Cardano. Chainlink contracts will contain 5,000 Chainlink in the standard version and 250 Chainlink in the micro format. Stellar futures will carry 250,000 Stellar in standard contracts and 12,500 Stellar in micro contracts. The move expands CME's cryptocurrency derivatives offerings beyond bitcoin, ether, XRP and solana.

CME said the three tokens give traders exposure to programmable DeFi, oracle services and payments infrastructure. Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group's Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, said clients are seeking regulated products to manage price risk and that offering both micro and standard sizes provides "greater choice with enhanced flexibility and more capital-efficiencies."

CME reported crypto derivatives averaged 278,300 contracts in 2025, with average open interest of 313,900 contracts. The exchange noted futures listings have often preceded U.S. spot ETF approvals for new assets; the Feb. 9 launch remains subject to regulatory approval and is intended to serve both institutional and retail traders, with micro contracts lowering capital barriers for smaller participants.

Key Topics

Crypto, Cme Group, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Giovanni Vicioso