FalconX Completes First Solana Futures Block Trade on CME, Paving the Way for a Potential Spot ETF

BlockBeats News, March 17th, according to Decrypt's report, digital asset broker FalconX announced on March 16th that it has completed the first-ever large-scale SOL futures trade with counterpart StoneX ahead of the official launch of Solana futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group). This move provides institutional investors with a "regulated venue for risk and price exposure management." The SOL futures trade was conducted through over-the-counter negotiation for large-scale futures contract transactions, avoiding impacting asset prices in the open market. CME's Solana futures come in two types — standard contracts (500 SOL) and micro contracts (25 SOL), settled in cash based on the CME CF Solana-US Dollar Reference Rate (calculated daily at 16:00 London time).

CME launched SOL futures at the end of February, seen as a "key prelude" to the approval of a Solana ETF. Institutions such as Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares, and others have also submitted applications for a spot Solana ETF to the SEC. Following the traditional path of "futures before ETF" (as seen with Bitcoin and Ethereum), the introduction of Solana futures has cleared a key hurdle for the approval of a SOL spot ETF. With institutional funds accelerating their positions, the narrative of SOL as an "Ethereum challenger" may heat up once again. However, the SEC's determination of Solana's security status remains unclear, and the approval or rejection of the SOL spot ETF may reshape the competition landscape among public blockchains.