CME expands crypto futures with Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar contracts, increasing coverage to 75% of market capitalization.
Institutional demand for crypto derivatives continues rising as CME Group expands its futures offerings. The exchange confirmed that its crypto suite currently accounts for more than 75% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. This was a milestone that followed new futures listings tied to Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar.
CME Expands Crypto Futures with New Altcoin Listings
CME Group revealed the expansion with an update to the public on X. The company disclosed that its crypto futures lineup is now worth more than 75% of the global crypto market value. As a result of this, the exchange strengthened its position in institutional trading of crypto derivatives.
The most recent additions to the list were Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. These products are offered as of February 9, 2026. Furthermore, normal as well as micro contract sizes are available for traders.
_Related Reading: _****CryptoQuant Reports CME Basis Compression, Says Bitcoin Bottom Not Formed | Live Bitcoin News
All the contracts are settled in cash, rather than physical delivery of cryptocurrency. Therefore, institutional investors can achieve price exposure without actually holding digital assets. Such an approach is also in line with regulated standards for trading futures in world markets.
In the past, CME already provided futures connected to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. As a result, the sum of the product line now accounts for a majority of cryptocurrency market capitalization.
CME reported having a high level of participation from around the world during trading sessions. According to the exchange, 46 percent of trading activity came from the EMEA region. Meanwhile, North America accounted for 40% volume, whereas Asia-Pacific accounted for 14%.
CME Reports Strong Growth in Crypto Derivatives Trading
Trading demand is also a reflection of the growing institutional interest in crypto derivatives markets. CME said it had an average daily volume of 407,200 contracts for the year to date. This number is a 46% increase from the previous year.
Open interest also increased steadily throughout the exchange’s crypto complex. Average daily open interest hit 335,400 contracts in early 2026. This metric had a 7% year-over-year increase, indicating persistent participation from institutional traders.
Additionally, CME has reported that its crypto derivatives platform had some $3 trillion in notional trading volume in 2025 alone. This record performance reflected increasing institutional adoption of regulated digital asset products.
Looking into the future, CME is looking to add more to its offerings, with a new benchmark product. The goal of the exchange is to introduce Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures on March 16, 2026, based on final regulatory approval.
CME also announced plans of introducing 24X7 trading of their crypto futures and options. The continuous trading model will start on May 29, 2026, using the CME Globex trading platform.
This update is an attempt to eliminate the familiar “CME gap.” The gap arises from the traditional markets when they are closed on weekends, while crypto markets are open for trading. Therefore, continuous trading will enable institutions to manage risks throughout crypto markets around the globe more efficiently.
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
Polymarket Prepares pUSD Rollout and Protocol Upgrade to Cut Failed Trades
Polymarket's protocol upgrade introduces pUSD, a USDC-backed collateral token on Polygon, enhancing order management, reducing failed trades, and lowering gas costs. The update aims for a smoother user experience while improving trading architecture and security.
CryptoNewsFlash4h ago
Nous Research Deep Dive: A Decentralized AI Lab That Paradigm Invested in at a $1B Valuation, Comprehensive Breakdown of the Hermes Model and the Psyche Network
Nous Research is an open-source AI lab focused on the Hermes series of models. In 2025, it received a $50 million investment from Paradigm, valuing it at $1 billion. What makes it unique is that it develops AI technology with a crypto-native team and then integrates it with the blockchain. Its core product, the Hermes model, is designed around the goal of reducing the refusal rate, and its data sources rely mainly on synthetic data. At the same time, Psyche Network builds a decentralized AI training network on Solana, incentivizing participants through a token mechanism. Nous Research adopts an open-source and decentralized strategy, aiming to demonstrate its technical capability and feasibility.
ChainNewsAbmedia6h ago
Ondo Finance submits a letter to the U.S. SEC requesting no enforcement action, concerning on-chain record-keeping of tokenized securities rights on the rights chain
Ondo Finance filed a request with the SEC on April 13, seeking confirmation that recording securities interests on the Ethereum mainnet in a tokenized form is compliant under certain patterns. Ondo believes that this on-chain recording can improve collateral monitoring, optimize processes, and simplify reconciliations, with the goal of operating in coordination with traditional finance.
GateNews7h ago
Pi Network Distributes 26.5M PI to 1M KYC Validators
Pi Network has taken another step forward in building its ecosystem. The project recently distributed 26.5 million PI tokens to more than 1 million KYC validators.
These rewards were given to users who helped verify identities on the network. This process is important. Because it ensures that
Coinfomania8h ago
Aave Faces a Major Trust Crisis: Service Providers Exit En Masse, with “Technology, Governance, and Risk Control” Fully Failing
Author: Jae, PANews
Compared with the external pressure of a bear market, Aave has instead seen a “black swan” emerge internally first.
Aave, which has long occupied the throne of lending agreements, is now facing the most severe ecosystem shake-up since its founding. There has been no hacker attack, no code vulnerabilities—only power gone out of control and conflicting interests.
From BGD Labs, a technical cornerstone, decisively leaving, to a public break between governance pioneer ACI (Aave Chan Initiative), and then to Chaos Labs, the risk-management steward, announcing that it is parting ways— a major “service provider retreat” is unfolding.
The depth of this game goes far beyond a mere cooperation dispute; it has triggered
区块客8h ago
Hyperliquid introduces a priority fee mechanism on mainnet; the order priority fee cap is reduced to 8 bps
Hyperliquid founder Jeff announced on Discord that the priority fee mechanism has been live on the mainnet in Alpha mode, including two types: Gossip and Order. Users can pay with HYPE tokens; the order priority fee cap has been reduced from 20 bps to 8 bps. Currently, it only applies to IOC orders for HIP-3 assets.
GateNews10h ago
