Broker FalconX conducts a test trade with SOL futures for CME Group

What’s new? FalconX, an institutional digital asset broker, has executed the first futures trade based on the Solana (SOL) blockchain native token for CME Group, a US derivative exchange manager, with StoneX acting as counterparty. The trade was made ahead of the official launch of SOL futures contracts on March 17.

Press release

What else is known? This was a privately negotiated, large-scale securities trade executed outside of the open market. Such transactions are called block trades.

“This highly anticipated launch marks a historic moment for the Solana ecosystem, allowing institutional investors to manage risk and price exposure on a regulated venue,” said Josh Barkhordar, Head of US Sales at FalconX.

The new contracts come in two sizes: standard 500 SOL and micro contracts of 25 SOL. Subsequent settlement in cash is based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar reference rate, which is settled daily at 16:00 London time.

FalconX is a key liquidity provider for CME Group’s crypto derivatives. The broker has transacted over $1,5 trillion in over 400 tokens for 600+ institutions.

As part of its strategy to expand into institutional cryptocurrency markets, FalconX partnered with liquidity and data solutions provider Fusion Digital Assets from TP ICAP Group in February 2024 and bought derivatives platform Arbelos Markets in January 2025.

CME Group notes that its crypto derivatives market has seen significant growth, with average daily volume reaching 202 000 contracts at the start of the year, up 73% year-on-year.

The average open interest (OI) stands at 243 600 contracts, up 55% from a year ago. The group’s crypto products are traded by more than 11 300 unique accounts.

CME Group announced the launch of SOL futures in late February, citing growing customer demand. The derivatives should also pave the way for the launch of altcoin-based spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

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Futures trading also preceded the launch of bitcoin and Ethereum-based spot ETFs, which were approved by the SEC securities regulator in January and July last year, respectively.

Several investment companies have already applied to launch SOL ETFs. Among them are Franklin Templeton with $1,5 trillion in assets under management, as well as Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Canary Capital.

With the arrival of Donald Trump and the new administration, the SEC has begun to adopt more cryptocurrency-friendly policies, which increases the chances of launching such products in the foreseeable future.

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Solana ranks sixth in the overall ranking of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with a figure of $65,8 billion. However, amid a downturn in the hype surrounding meme tokens, most of which were created on the Solana network, the asset has lost 34% over the past month. At the time of writing, it has reached $129, down 56% from the all-time high of $293 set in January.