**Solana Shines Bright Amidst Cryptocurrency Decline**
On Friday, while many cryptocurrencies faced a downturn, Solana (SOL) stood out as a beacon of positivity, emerging as the top performer among the leading 10 crypto assets over the past 24 hours. This surge in SOL’s value was sparked by the announcement from CME Group, the largest derivatives marketplace globally, that it plans to launch Solana futures in March, pending approval from U.S. financial regulators. This news follows earlier speculation fueled by a leak on the exchange’s staging website, hinting at the potential introduction of XRP and Solana futures.
## CME To Launch SOL Futures On March 17
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is gearing up to introduce Solana futures on March 17, marking an exciting expansion of its crypto derivatives offerings beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to a press release issued on Friday, these new contracts will enable traders to manage Solana price risk through micro-sized contracts of 25 SOL and larger contracts of 500 SOL. Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s global head of cryptocurrency products, stated, “With the launch of our new SOL futures contracts, we are responding to increasing client demand for a broader set of regulated products to manage cryptocurrency price risk.” The contracts will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, which tracks SOL’s price daily. CME already offers BTC and ETH futures, which have experienced remarkable growth in trading activity, with an average daily volume exceeding 200,000 contracts in 2025—a 70% increase from 2024. If approved, this will be the first opportunity for institutions to gain exposure to SOL, the sixth-largest digital asset by market value.
## SOL ETFs Next?
CME’s decision to list SOL futures significantly boosts the chances that related spot ETF filings could receive approval in the near future, as futures often serve as a precursor for regulatory greenlights on ETF products. Several firms, including Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, 21Shares, and VanEck, have submitted applications for Solana-based ETFs to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has recently acknowledged some of these filings, with a decision expected later this year. Analysts are optimistic about the potential for approval, with JPMorgan estimating that SOL ETFs could attract between $3 billion and $6 billion in assets within their initial months of trading. As reported by ZyCrypto earlier this week, two proposed SOL futures ETFs—the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2x Solana ETF (SOLT)—have been added to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website, signaling a step closer to their market debut. Despite the overall decline in digital assets on Friday, SOL was trading at $145.61, reflecting a 7.8% increase over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
