XRP Futures Shifts to CME Amid Institutional Growth
XRP derivatives open interest has shifted towards CME, a regulated U.S. exchange favored by institutional investors. The shift comes as XRP's price rallies about 40% to around $1.38 ahead of a mid-September Senate vote on the CLARITY Act.
Total XRP futures open interest fell from 2.77 billion tokens on August 17 to 2.34 billion on August 31, but CME's share rose by 36% to roughly 387 million tokens. This represents around 17% of outstanding XRP futures exposure, up from about 10% in mid-August.
The move towards regulated venues like CME is a sign of growing institutional participation in XRP derivatives markets. CFTC data shows leveraged funds were net short approximately 116 million XRP while dealers and asset managers added roughly 60M and 28M net-long equivalents, indicating stronger adoption of regulated crypto venues.