Derivative exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, is pursuing 24/7 trading, but wants to leave out meme coins. Unlike CME, most other issuers are jumping at the chance to bring the speculative tokens closer to investors. For instance, asset managers like VanEck and 21Shares are pushing forward with plans to introduce spot ETPs pegged to meme tokens such as Dogecoin and TRUMP. CME launched crypto derivative products tied to Solana and XRP CME’s global head of cryptocurrency products, Gio Vicioso, remarked, “We’re launching these products based on underlying coins and tokens that have a use case, so I don’t anticipate that we will be doing anything in the meme coin space, as the use case for such products is really not there.” In the last few months, the exchange launched crypto derivative products tied to only major cryptocurrencies, Solana, XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. So far, they are doing well. CME’s Solana Futures started trading on March 17 and have seen close to $5 billion in total trading volume, with daily volumes fluctuating between $75 million and $100 million. Shortly after the launch, even Vicioso claimed the futures had received strong early support, emphasizing the firm’s intent to equip investors with instruments to build cryptocurrency portfolios. The firm’s XRP futures launched in May are also close to reaching $2 billion in cumulative trading, hitting a peak daily volume of $235 million last Friday. The products have only been accessible from Sunday 6 p.m. ET to Friday 5 p.m. ET, pausing daily for one hour of routine maintenance. However, the CME is thinking of giving traders 24/7 access. Vicioso stated that it’s important they bridge the downtime from Friday evening to Sunday evening, given the rising demand from traders. The Nasdaq and NYSE are already making progress in modernizing infrastructure for 24/7 trading, in response to increased activity in crypto and other volatile asset categories. Crypto exchanges were quick to list Trump’s meme coin While the CME distances itself from meme coins, many crypto exchanges have taken a more welcoming stance, some more eagerly than others. According to Reuters, major crypto exchanges were much quicker to list the Trump Coin than other meme coins, despite their pledges to adequately evaluate “risky” tokens before issuing them. Some exchanges approved the asset while the majority of tokens were still held by Trump and his associates—a scenario typically viewed as high risk, since insider sell-offs could crash the price and harm other investors. Just 48 hours after launch, TRUMP had been picked up by eight of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. Coinbase followed by adding the token on its roadmap on January 18, and finally listing it on January 21. Upbit was the last of the top 10 to list it, on February 13. Analysts claim, however, that they listed the token much faster than some of the largest meme coins. The same 10 exchanges, Binance, Gate.io, Bitget, MEXC, OKX, Coinbase, Bybit, Upbit, Crypto.com, and HTX, took an average of 129 days to list the four other top meme coins by market cap as of May 29: Pepe, Bonk, Fartcoin, and dogwifhat. In contrast, it took them four days on average to list $TRUMP. Though exchanges Bitget, MEXC, OKX, Coinbase, and Upbit insist they all went through the proper evaluation procedures before listing the token. Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More
