The era of considering the crypto industry as a “two-asset city” is officially over in the world’s largest derivatives market. On January 15, CME Group announced plans to launch futures contracts for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) on February 9, pending regulatory review. This move represents a calculated signal from the Chicago-based exchange giant that the digital asset market has matured beyond the appeal of Bitcoin and Ethereum into a diversified, risk-managed asset class.
The expansion introduces a deliberate two-tier structure designed to appeal to both institutional heavyweights and active retailers. The contracts include standard and micro sizes: 100,000 ADA and 10,000 ADA, 5,000 LINK and 250 LINK, and 250,000 XLM and 12,500 XLM. By expanding its “blue chip” rails to include these three distinct assets, CME is effectively declaring that the crypto risk transfer infrastructure is ready to handle a broader range of blockchain utilities, from smart contract platforms to middleware and payments.
The Volume Argument from CME
The main reason for this expansion is visible on the exchange’s scoreboard itself, as its new listings follow an underwhelming year for CME’s crypto desk. In 2025, the exchange reported record crypto futures and options activity, recording an average daily volume (ADV) of 278,300 contracts. This figure represents a notional value of about $12 billion that changes hands every day. Perhaps more importantly for institutional adoption, the average open interest (OI) was 313,900 contracts, representing a notional value of approximately $26.4 billion.
These metrics suggest that the market has crossed a threshold. Crypto at CME is no longer a niche experiment but a robust contribution to global portfolio construction. Data for 2025 shows that size is increasingly driven by accessibility, not just large block deals. In its annual review, CME noted that crypto ADV rose 139% year-over-year to a record 278,000 contracts. Notably, the engine room of this growth was the “micro” suite. For micro-ETH futures, there was an average of 144,000 contracts per day, for micro-Bitcoin futures it was an average of 75,000 per day.
The Final Playbook
Meanwhile, CME is not going into this expansion blindly, having developed a proven playbook for “graduating” assets into the regulated space, validated by the performance of Solana and XRP. When the exchange launched futures for these assets in 2025, they quickly became some of the fastest adopted contracts in its history. For comparison, as of mid-September 2025, since its launch on March 17, more than 540,000 Solana futures have been traded, representing a notional value of approximately $22.3 billion.
XRP showed similar dynamics: Since its launch on May 19, more than 370,000 futures have been traded, representing a total notional value of around $16.2 billion. CME also saw record average daily volume and open interest for both assets in August 2025, proving that liquidity can cluster around certain altcoins if the trading venue is trustworthy. This precedent is critical to understanding the ADA, LINK, and XLM listings.
Why CME Relies on ADA, LINK, and XLM
CME’s selection of these three specific tokens provides insights into the way institutional investors are beginning to categorize crypto assets. Industry observers noted that this represents a diversification of “beta” or market presence. Cardano acts as a classic Layer 1 instrument, allowing traders to hedge or enter a smart contract ecosystem that is distinct from Ethereum. Meanwhile, Chainlink represents an “infrastructure beta,” serving as a proxy for the middleware oracle networks that connect on-chain applications to off-chain data.
Stellar is associated with payments and cross-border transfer of value, a narrative that comes up again and again in discussions about tokenized cash and compliance-friendly settlement. Crucially, the lines for these contracts have been in place for longer than many people realize. CME’s contracts are cash-settled based on the CME CF Reference Rates, which are intended to be transparent and reproducible. Stellar, for example, has been part of this benchmark universe for years. April 2022 CME Globex announcements listed the CME CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Reference Rate (XLMUSD_RR) among other benchmark additions.
The ETF Catalyst
The strategic importance of the CME push was confirmed almost immediately by a wave of new product applications. Ahead of the futures debut on February 9, ProShares filed for six new ETFs tied to these specific assets, aiming to capitalize on the regulated infrastructure that CME is building. The filings include both standard and leveraged exposure: the ProShares Chainlink ETF, the ProShares Cardano ETF, and the ProShares Stellar ETF.
This is alongside their dual leveraged counterparts, which include the ProShares Ultra Cardano ETF, ProShares Ultra Chainlink ETF, and ProShares Ultra Stellar ETF. While tickers and fees have yet to be announced, the filing lists March 31 as the effective date. This timeline is insightful as it suggests an orchestrated sequence in which February CME futures create the necessary liquidity, hedging opportunities, and reference prices. This would then pave the way for the launch of structured retail products approximately seven weeks later.
Measuring Success
The market will quickly determine whether ADA, LINK, and XLM are ready for the big stage. The real test will be whether these contracts become true “tradable markets” with sustained open interest and tight spreads, or whether they remain just occasional hedging instruments. Using CME’s 2025 average daily notional value of $12 billion as a baseline, a simple scenario analysis provides a framework for what success looks like in the first 90 days.
A “soft adoption” scenario, in which only 0.1% of the stake would be adopted, would result in a combined daily notional value of approximately $12 million. This would be enough to maintain listings but would indicate limited institutional integration. Meanwhile, a “base case” 0.5% stake would yield about $60 million per day, consistent with steady hedging and meaningful market-making participation. However, a 1.5% “breakout” scenario would mean around $180 million per day. Such a figure would signal that the onshore complex has become a real place for altcoin risk transfer, likely paving the way for broader options liquidity.
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