• Get ready! Coinbase is planning to launch XRP futures contracts on April 21, 2025.
• Just to give you an idea, each XRP futures contract represents 10,000 XRP, which is currently valued at around $20,000.
• Interestingly, we’re seeing a surge in retail interest in XRP, with active addresses climbing by a whopping 490% since 2022.

Coinbase Derivatives has officially taken steps by filing a self-certification with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to introduce XRP futures contracts. This move signals Coinbase aiming to provide a regulated pathway for investors to tap into XRP, which is currently the fourth-largest digital asset in terms of market capitalization. Coinbase has announced that they anticipate the launch to happen on April 21, 2025.

Details of XRP Futures Contract Launch

Once approved, the XRP futures contracts will operate as a monthly, cash-settled, margined product, trading under the symbol XRL. Each contract will mirror the value of XRP and will be settled in good old USD. Specifically, each contract will represent 10,000 XRP, which at XRP’s current price of $2 per unit, comes out to about $20,000.

The filing provides details on how it will all work, outlining flexibility for traders with contract options for the current month and the following two. To help keep things stable, there’s also a built-in safeguard: trading will be paused if XRP’s price in the spot market jumps or drops by more than 10% within a single hour, aiming to give market participants more peace of mind.

Coinbase’s move with this filing is a significant step in the XRP futures landscape, especially following a similar launch of CFTC-regulated XRP futures by Chicago-based Bitnomial in March 2025. With these new contracts, Coinbase is looking to offer a regulated and efficient way for people to get involved with XRP’s value without needing to directly hold the digital asset. This development comes as XRP is seeing more and more interest from everyday investors, which is a bit different from the growth in Bitcoin and Ethereum that’s been more driven by institutions.

XRP’s Rising Popularity Among Retail Traders

Current market data indicates that XRP holds a market value of $121.6 billion, positioning it as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency worldwide by market cap. It’s clear that XRP’s popularity has been steadily growing, particularly among retail investors. Recent figures from Glassnode reveal a massive 490% increase in active XRP addresses since the market lows of 2022. In comparison, Bitcoin has barely budged, showing a minimal 0% increase in active addresses over the same timeframe. This significant jump in retail activity strongly suggests a growing speculative demand for XRP as it continues to gain momentum in the digital asset space.

As Coinbase aims to launch futures contracts for XRP, the cryptocurrency market is expanding its range of reliable and structured products for traders. A key factor here is XRP’s increasing appeal to the general public, making it a notable player in the market. Based on current information, with XRP futures expected to launch in April 2025, we’re likely to see further development in the market for both retail and institutional trading activity.