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Volatility Shares is set to launch the first-ever XRP futures ETF in the US tomorrow, according to a post-effective amendment filed with the SEC on May 21. The launch was confirmed by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

The fund, structured as part of the Volatility Shares Trust, will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPI.

In addition to this product, Volatility Shares is also rolling out the Volatility Shares 2X XRP ETF (XRPT), which is designed to deliver twice the daily performance of XRP through leveraged exposure to XRP futures.

With the new offerings, Volatility Shares will join Teucrium Investment Advisors in offering investment products tied to XRP, Ripple’s native asset.

Last month, Teucrium launched the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF aiming to offer returns double those of XRP’s daily movements.

According to Balchunas, Teucrium’s leveraged XRP ETF currently manages approximately $120 million in assets and averages $35 million in daily trading volume.

“Good signal that there will be demand for this one,” the expert said.

The fund will invest in cash-settled XRP futures contracts and aims to deliver returns that track the price movements of XRP.

Volatility Shares will serve as the investment adviser and charge a management fee of 1.15%, though expenses are capped at 0.94% through May 2026 due to a fee waiver agreement.

To maintain its regulated investment company status, the fund will invest in XRP futures through a wholly-owned Cayman Islands subsidiary. The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in XRP-linked instruments, including futures contracts and potentially other derivatives.

This comes as efforts to expand XRP-based investment products continue. ProShares was expected to launch three XRP futures ETFs in late April, but the SEC has yet to approve them. Yesterday, the agency also delayed decisions on proposed spot XRP ETFs from Grayscale and 21Shares.

As ProShares awaits clarity from the SEC, other XRP futures products include Coinbase’s CFTC-regulated XRP contracts, as well as CME’s XRP futures, which debuted on Monday with $19 million in first-day volume, highlighting growing market appetite for XRP exposure.

Ripple, the issuer of XRP, has faced major regulatory hurdles many thought would be resolved by now, but its legal saga remains ongoing.

On May 8, Ripple agreed to a reduced $50 million settlement with the SEC, down from the original $125 million. However, Judge Analisa Torres rejected the joint motion on May 15 due to procedural issues, and the case remains under appeal. At press time, XRP is trading at $2.36, little changed on the day.

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Bitcoin just ended the week with its strongest close in history, settling above $106,000 after a weekend rally, as shown on Binance’s BTC/USDT chart.

The digital asset pushed as high as $107,000 on Sunday, narrowing the gap to its January all-time high of $109,500 to just 2%.

After testing higher levels, Bitcoin eased to around $104,500 at press time. Still, analysts view the pullback as healthy consolidation amid rising institutional flows and tightening market supply, suggesting continued upward momentum in the near term.

Investor appetite for Bitcoin investment products stays robust. US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $608 million, building on strong momentum from the previous week, per Farside Investors.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust topped the leaderboard, pulling in more than $840 million, more than the combined net inflows of the rest of the market.

“This is not a melt-up—it’s a structurally supported move,” said analysts at Bitfinex in a comment on Bitcoin’s recent breakout. “As long as ETF and institutional flows persist and macro stays stable, dips are likely to be brief and bought aggressively. The path of least resistance remains higher.”

Corporate demand for Bitcoin also remains strong and steady. On Monday, Strategy, the largest corporate holder of BTC, announced the acquisition of an additional 13,390 BTC for approximately $1.3 billion, bringing its total holdings to 568,840 BTC.

The company’s aggressive accumulation strategy continues to set the pace for institutional adoption.

A growing number of new and existing companies have either adopted Bitcoin or announced plans to hold it as a strategic reserve asset, many of whom are expected to continue purchasing BTC in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, the global race among nations to establish sovereign Bitcoin reserves is also anticipated to accelerate, further tightening supply in the years ahead.

According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, demand is now considerably outpacing supply. With miners projected to produce just 165,000 BTC this year, public companies and ETFs have already acquired more than that.

Hougan sees this structural imbalance as a key driver that could propel Bitcoin beyond $100,000, with $200,000 as the next major target.

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, is expected to launch XRP futures and Micro XRP futures contracts on Monday, May 19, aiming to expand its suite of regulated crypto derivatives to include the fourth-largest digital asset by market capitalization.

The contracts will be available for trading on CME Globex and cleared through CME ClearPort, with access beginning Sunday evening, May 18, for after-hours participants, as noted in CME’s notice.

Each XRP futures contract will represent 50,000 XRP, while the Micro XRP futures will represent 2,500 XRP, both cash-settled based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate. Fees vary by participant type and venue.

CME Group confirmed in April that it plans to launch its first XRP futures contracts, pending regulatory approval, following earlier leaks in January that hinted at the rollout.

“Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption of the network grows,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, in an April statement. “We are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies.”

The XRP products will expand CME’s existing crypto derivatives lineup, which already includes contracts tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. CME just debuted Solana futures in March.

The company’s Q1 crypto derivatives trading saw daily volume climb 141% year-over-year to 198,000 contracts, or $11.3 billion in notional terms, while open interest grew 83% to 251,000 contracts worth $21.8 billion.

The upcoming rollout comes as efforts to settle the SEC’s long-running case against Ripple, the company behind XRP, stall in court.

On Thursday, US District Judge Analisa Torres, the federal judge presiding over the case, denied a joint request by the two parties to approve a settlement that would have reduced Ripple’s civil penalty from $125 million to $50 million.

Calling it procedurally improper, Judge Torres explained that the motion failed to satisfy Rule 60, which only allows relief from a final judgment under exceptional circumstances.

The decision keeps Ripple’s legal challenges alive and casts uncertainty over the timeline for spot XRP ETF approvals, which remain under SEC review.

Still, the introduction of CME XRP futures gives institutional investors regulated exposure to XRP price movements at a time when interest in crypto derivatives is growing.

Last month, Coinbase announced the listing of XRP futures contracts, including standard XRP futures and nano XRP futures, on its regulated derivatives exchange.

The price of XRP has been relatively stable over the past 24 hours at approximately $2.3 per CoinGecko.

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New SEC filings reveal that Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and Citadel Advisors have increased their holdings in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a sign of sustained institutional interest in crypto-related assets despite recent market volatility.

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, increased its holdings in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF to 8.7 million shares valued at $408 million as of March 31, according to a Thursday filing.

This represents an uptick from the 8.2 million IBIT shares held at the end of last year. However, the total value of the holdings fell from $436 million to $408 million due to a decline in the share price.

Between December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2025, IBIT’s share price dropped from around $54 to approximately $47, according to Yahoo Finance data. The ETF’s shares closed Thursday down slightly at $58.

Citadel Advisors also expanded its IBIT position in Q1 2025. According to a Thursday filing, the firm held over 3 million IBIT shares worth approximately $147 million, up from around 1 million shares in December.

In addition, Citadel Advisors reported holding $676 million in call options and $366 million in put options tied to IBIT.

Mubadala and Citadel Advisors join other major institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Avenir Group, in expanding their IBIT exposure. However, not all large holders are increasing their stakes.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board exited its entire $321 million position in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, according to a recent SEC filing. Despite the divestment, the board still holds crypto-related assets, including nearly $19 million in Coinbase stock.

Millennium Management, previously the largest IBIT holder, on Thursday reported owning about 17.5 million shares as of March 31, valued at approximately $823 million. This is down from the 29.8 million shares worth $1.5 billion disclosed in its February filing.

Millennium’s new filing also revealed options exposure to IBIT, including $11.5 million in call options and $12.5 million in put options.

Millennium remains one of IBIT’s top shareholders. According to the latest data tracked by Fintel, the firm is the second-largest institutional holder, behind Goldman Sachs. Citadel ranks third, followed by other major stakeholders such as Capula Management and D.E. Shaw & Co.

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FTX is set to begin its second creditor payout starting on May 30, targeting to distribute more than $5 billion to eligible claimants, according to the estate’s Thursday announcement. Payments will be processed through BitGo or Kraken and are expected to arrive within 1 to 3 business days, the entity states.

The upcoming round is part of FTX’s ongoing bankruptcy resolution and follows the initial payouts that began in February for creditors with claims under $50,000. The second distribution will include repaying creditors with claims exceeding that amount.

FTX Distribution: 30th May
$5bn to be distributed

Claims > $50k: 72% – intl
Claims > $50k: 54% – US
Claims =< $50k: 120%

— Sunil (FTX Creditor Champion) (@sunil_trades) May 15, 2025

According to Bloomberg’s March report, FTX, under the leadership of CEO John Ray III, has approximately $11.4 billion earmarked for creditor repayments. However, payouts will be based on digital asset values as of the bankruptcy petition date.

In other words, creditors will receive amounts tied to much lower valuations at the time of FTX’s collapse.

The distribution includes varying payment rates across different claim categories: Dotcom Customer Entitlement Claims will receive 72%, US Customer Entitlement Claims 54%, General Unsecured Claims and Digital Asset Loan Claims 61% each, and Convenience Claims 120%.

“These first non-convenience class distributions are an important milestone for FTX,” said FTX CEO. “The scope and magnitude of the FTX creditor base make this an unprecedented distribution process, and today’s announcement reflects the outstanding success of the recovery and coordination efforts of our team of professionals.”

To receive distributions, creditors must complete several requirements, including logging into the FTX Customer Portal, completing Know Your Customer verification, submitting tax forms, and onboarding with either BitGo or Kraken.

Customers who onboard with a Distribution Service Provider will forfeit their right to receive cash distributions directly from FTX, with payments instead going through their chosen provider.

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Dubai, UAE, May 15th, 2025, Chainwire

Falcon Finance, a next-generation synthetic dollar protocol backed by DWF Labs, announced it has surpassed $350 million in circulating supply of its overcollateralized digital asset, USDf. This milestone underscores the protocol’s rapid ascent within two weeks from public launch as a credible, transparent, and scalable solution for on-chain dollar demand. 

The announcement follows a strong wave of adoption since Falcon’s public launch, building on momentum two weeks from a successful closed beta that accumulated over $200 million in Total Value Locked (TVL). USDf is now actively minted, staked, and traded across Ethereum, with liquidity available on leading decentralized exchanges including Uniswap, Curve, and Balancer, as well as centralized platforms such as Bitfinex.

“This achievement reflects both user confidence and market demand for secure, yield-generating digital dollars,” said Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner at Falcon Finance. “In surpassing $350 million, Falcon reinforces its role as a core building block for the future of programmable finance.”

The growth in USDf circulation also comes shortly after the launch of Falcon’s transparency page, which offers users full visibility into the protocol’s collateral composition, reserve distribution, and third-party audit data. This includes breakdowns of reserves held with institutional-grade custodians through Fireblocks and Ceffu, mirrored trading positions on centralized exchanges, and on-chain deployment across staking and liquidity protocols.

Falcon Finance’s design emphasizes asset safety and operational transparency, with the majority of reserves secured in MPC-based wallets and subject to quarterly third-party attestations. The protocol’s first audit reports from Zellic and Pashov Audit Group were first released in Q1 2025, with additional reports scheduled on a rolling basis.

USDf can be minted using a wide range of collateral, including USDT, USDC, ETH, BTC, SOL, TON, NEAR, and other supported tokens. Staked USDf is converted into sUSDf, a yield-bearing asset that offers users approximately 15 percent APY, with the potential for enhanced returns through Falcon’s Boosted Yield NFTs.

As part of its long-term user growth strategy, Falcon also launched Falcon Miles, an ecosystem-wide points program that rewards user activity across minting, staking, and asset holding. The program is set to expand to additional on-chain integrations, including lending markets and tokenized yield protocols, as the Falcon ecosystem continues to evolve.

With cross-chain deployments and new collateral integrations underway, Falcon Finance is advancing toward its mission of building a robust foundation for synthetic digital dollars.

For more information, please visit www.falcon.finance.

Contact

Managing Partner
Andrei Grachev
[email protected]

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XRP has surged 10% over the past 24 hours to reach $2.6, lifting its market capitalization to approximately $152 billion and reclaiming its position as the third-largest crypto asset, CoinGecko data shows.

The surge narrowly pushed Ripple’s flagship currency ahead of Tether’s USDT, which also achieved a major milestone. USDT’s market cap hit $150 billion for the first time on Monday, cementing its role as the leading and most widely used stablecoin in the crypto ecosystem.

XRP is now trading at its highest level since early March, though the digital asset remains about 24% below its all-time high of $3.4, set in January 2018.

This isn’t the first time XRP has climbed to the third spot in market rankings. Last December, the crypto asset reached a market capitalization of over $140 billion, surpassing Tether and Solana to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value.

At the time, the rally was driven by optimism over a US election outcome seen as favorable to local crypto initiatives, along with speculative interest in the potential approval of spot XRP ETFs.

Those same catalysts have once again reignited bullish momentum. Last Friday, Ripple and the SEC announced a joint motion to settle their years-long legal dispute for $50 million.

The agreement, pending court approval, would allow Ripple to recover $125 million currently held in escrow, while upholding the court’s prior ruling on XRP sales.

Apart from its ongoing attempts to resolve the case, Ripple has also made headlines for its recent push to expand its footprint in institutional finance and the stablecoin market.

In April, the company reached an agreement to acquire Hidden Road, a multi-asset prime broker, for $1.25 billion. The acquisition aims to strengthen Ripple’s financial services offerings, with Hidden Road planning to transfer its post-trade activities to the XRP Ledger.

Also last month, Ripple reportedly made a bid between $4 billion and $5 billion to acquire Circle, the USDC stablecoin issuer. However, the offer was ultimately rejected by Circle, which deemed the valuation undervalued in light of its upcoming IPO.

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