An alleged "beta test page" from the US derivatives exchange CME Group caused excitement yesterday. The now-deleted page appeared to show the announcement of futures contracts for XRP and Solana (SOL) in the US.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart wrote about this on X (formerly Twitter):

Assuming "beta.cmegroup" is actually a beta/test version of the actual CMEGroup website -- looks like CME is expecting to launch SOL & XRP futures on Feb 10. But this isn't available on the actual website yet.

Honestly makes sense and largely to be expected if true IMO https://t.co/lfMGd8X9KE
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 22, 2025

However, according to CoinDesk, an American medium focusing on crypto news, it appeared to be a "mistake." A CME Group spokesman reportedly stated that the page was published by mistake. He further stressed that no decisions have yet been made regarding the launch of XRP or Solana futures contracts.

Market reaction to the rumors
After the rumors spread, the prices of XRP and SOL initially rose nearly three percent. Shortly thereafter, however, both coins lost some of these gains.

Despite CME Group's denial, Bloomberg analyst Seyffart argues that it would make sense for such products to be launched. He adds that this is largely to be expected. Indeed, XRP and Solana are considered strong candidates for a spot ETF in the United States.

Precursor to spot ETFs?
A futures contract at the CME, or a futures ETF, is often seen as an important precursor to a spot ETF. Seyffart explained CoinDesk from:
"We have already seen several ETF applications for Solana and XRP futures ETFs. Normally these would use CME or CBOE futures, but they are not there at the moment. I expect the CME to list these futures next month, assuming the filers of these applications have information that we don't yet know about."

Potential impact of XRP and Solana ETFs
ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum have already proven to be a great success in the United States, with billions of dollars in inflows. Analysts at JPMorgan expect XRP and Solana ETFs to also generate significant interest, with potential inflows of up to $14 billion.

Although the CME Group officially states that nothing has been decided yet, speculation about the arrival of XRP and Solana futures remains alive in the market. These developments could be an important step in the further institutionalization of the crypto market.