Solana CME Futures Launch Falls Short of BTC and ETH Debuts—But Timing May Be to Blame
Solana’s (SOL) futures made their debut on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Monday, marking a milestone for institutional access to the asset. However, the launch was relatively muted compared to the explosive debuts of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures.
On its first trading day, SOL futures saw $12.3 million in notional volume and closed with $7.8 million in open interest—significantly lower than BTC’s $102.7 million first-day volume in 2017 and ETH’s $31 million in 2021, according to K33 Research.
The subdued performance coincided with broader weakness in the crypto market. SOL dropped about 10% from weekend highs, underperforming BTC’s 4.5% decline and ETH’s 3.8% dip. The lackluster launch also followed a downturn in speculative trading activity, particularly in the memecoin sector, and negative reactions to a recent Solana commercial.
Despite the seemingly underwhelming start, K33 analysts Vetle Lunde and David Zimmerman argue that SOL’s debut is more competitive when adjusted for market capitalization. When BTC and ETH futures launched, their respective market caps stood at $318 billion and $200 billion, whereas SOL’s was only $65 billion at the time of its CME debut.
Market conditions also played a significant role. BTC futures launched during the height of the 2017 bull run, and ETH futures benefited from Tesla’s Bitcoin investment and an altcoin surge in 2021. In contrast, SOL’s entry into the CME came amid a risk-off environment with no immediate catalysts to drive institutional demand.
“The timing of SOL’s launch wasn’t ideal for attracting institutional liquidity, but that doesn’t necessarily mean demand for altcoin futures is weak,” K33 noted.
While the initial figures may not match those of BTC and ETH, the listing of SOL futures on CME is still a major step toward greater institutional adoption of the asset.
