CME Group hits $900B in Q3 crypto derivatives as ETH leads surge

CME Group logged $900B in crypto derivatives volume in Q3 2025

by Blockworks /

October 16, 2025 08:49 am

Pamela Brick/Shutterstock and Adobe modified by Blockworks

CME Group posted record-breaking activity in its cryptocurrency derivatives markets during the third quarter of 2025, with total futures and options volume exceeding $900 billion, according to its October 2025 Cryptocurrency Insights report.

The exchange also reached a record average daily open interest (ADOI) of $31.3 billion, signaling expanding institutional appetite for regulated digital asset exposure.

The number of large open interest holders climbed to 1,014 in mid-September, a clear marker of market depth and participation growth.

ETH led the rally, with futures volume up 355% year-over-year and open interest up 441% to $8.7 billion. Open interest peaked at $10.6 billion in August, and ETH options hit a record $1.2 billion ADOI. CME cited the rise of Ethereum-based trading and hedging as a sign of maturing institutional risk management across decentralized finance markets.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

New SOL and XRP futures also reached milestones since launching earlier this year, trading $34 billion and $23.7 billion in notional value, respectively.

Solana open interest surpassed $2.1 billion, and XRP hit $1.4 billion, both achieving record large-holder counts. The activity underscores rising diversification beyond Bitcoin and ETH into altcoin derivatives.

CME’s spot-quoted Bitcoin (QBTC) and Ether (QETH) futures continue to attract institutional use, blending futures’ capital efficiency with spot-market exposure. More than 400,000 contracts have traded, totaling over $380 million in notional value.

The exchange expanded its crypto suite with new options on Solana and XRP futures on October 13, 2025 — the only CFTC-approved XRP and Solana options in the U.S. — and announced plans to introduce 24/7 trading in early 2026, aligning its regulated offering with the always-on digital asset market.

This is a developing story.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

ERC 8004: Introducing Trust for AI Agents

ERC 8004 introduces a new trust layer for AI agents by standardizing onchain identity, reputation, and validation. As agents begin handling capital and coordinating autonomously, trust becomes the key constraint to broader adoption. The rollout mirrors the early x402 narrative, where adoption lagged the initial launch until major integrations and a viral use case pulled attention into the ecosystem. If ERC 8004 follows a similar path, downstream infrastructure tied to the standard could see outsized benefit as the narrative gains traction. The primary beneficiaries are likely to be agent frameworks and launchpads at the distribution layer, agent to agent coordination platforms that enable delegation and payments, and validation providers that offer stronger security and execution guarantees.

by Kunal Doshi