- Solana futures launched with $12.3 million in volume, lower than Bitcoin and Ethereum’s debut.
- Open interest in Solana futures reached $7.8 million on the first day, below Bitcoin and Ethereum’s launch OI.
- Despite the weak start, the launch is seen as a significant step toward Solana ETFs approval.
On Monday, CME Group created Solana (SOL) futures marking a significant advance in the cryptocurrency market. However, the debut came with disappointing trading activity. Solana futures registered a trading volume of $12.3 million when it launched while Bitcoin futures surpassed this number by almost ten times during its opening day with $102.7 million. Similarly Ethereum futures reached $31 million in volume on its first day.
The weak trading activity observed in Solana futures reveals itself with consistency because of the substantial market capitalization gap between Solana and other significant cryptocurrencies. Solana, which ranks as the sixth position in cryptocurrency market capitalization while institutions demonstrate limited investment interest in the network compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum markets. According to K33 Research’s Vetle Lunde, when normalizing launch volumes relative to market caps, the Solana debut aligns more closely with the earlier launches of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Open Interest and Trading Activity
Despite the low initial trading volumes, Solana futures did see a significant rise in open interest (OI), which stood at $7.8 million on its first day. This figure remains below the OI levels recorded by Bitcoin and Ethereum during their debut, both of which surpassed $20 million in OI. As of now, Solana futures’ open interest has grown to $3.84 billion, with Binance holding the largest share at 27%, followed by Bitget (23%) and Gate.io (17.42%).
The growth in OI is a positive sign for Solana futures, especially when compared to the initial weak performance of CME’s Bitcoin derivatives. CME has established dominant status within the Bitcoin futures market by controlling a quarter of Bitcoin futures open interest. Solana futures indicate an evolutionary path towards growing market adoption and eventual widespread acceptance according to current indicators
The Significance of the Solana Futures Launch
The CME Group launch of Solana futures fell short of volume expectations but established an important foundation for Solana’s future market expansion. Future expansion for Solana depends heavily on the new launch because it establishes conditions for future Solana ETFs to develop.
Solana futures success will create conditions that might draw institutional participation which eventually leads to obtaining authorization for Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
