XRP Army Is Truly Global As CME Data Reveals Nearly Half of XRP Futures Trading Occurs in Non-U.S. Hours

The CME's recently launched XRP XRP futures underscore the cryptocurrency's international appeal, with nearly half of its trading volume occurring outside U.S. trading hours.

The regulated XRP futures – standard and micro-sized contracts – began trading on the global derivatives giant a week ago, registering a total trading volume of 4,032, worth $86.6 million in the first six trading days, the exchange's spokesperson told CoinDesk.

The spokesperson highlighted that "46% of the [total] volume occurred during non-U.S. hours" and nearly half of the trading comes from participants outside the U.S.

The data suggest strong international participation in the futures market. XRP is a payments-focused cryptocurrency primarily designed for fast and low-cost cross-border payments. 

Ripple, a financial technology company, uses XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to facilitate international money transfers.

The CME's standard and micro contracts, sized at 50,000 XRP and 2,500 XRP, respectively, are cash-settled and based on the SME CF CRP-Dollar Reference rate, which tracks the cryptocurrency's price daily at 4:00 p.m. London time.

These futures enable traders to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency without actually owning it.