FalconX Completes First Block Trade for CME Group’s Solana Futures

Digital asset prime broker FalconX announced on Saturday the completion of the “first-ever” block trade for CME Group’s Solana futures with StoneX as the counterparty. This milestone occurred a day ahead of the SOL futures launch of new contracts expected on March 17.

Located in San Mateo, California, FalconX executed the transaction aiming to provide a means to manage risk and price exposure on a regulated venue, according to Josh Barkhordar, head of U.S. sales at the firm.

A block trade refers to a large-volume, privately negotiated transaction of futures contracts executed outside the open market to avoid disrupting the asset’s price.

CME Group launched the Solana futures contract in late February to meet increasing client demand, with the offering being viewed as a precursor and primary prerequisite to a SOL ETF.

Several asset management firms have filed applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch Solana ETFs. Notably, Franklin Templeton, managing over $1.5 trillion in assets, submitted a filing in late February 2025. Other firms such as Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Canary Capital have also filed for spot Solana ETFs.

Solana futures follow a similar pattern established with Bitcoin and Ethereum, where futures trading preceded ETF authorization and approval from a regulatory body.

The new contracts come in two sizes: standard contracts representing 500 SOL and micro contracts representing 25 SOL. The futures are cash-settled based on the CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate, calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. London time, providing a standardized benchmark for SOL’s U.S. dollar price.

FalconX serves as a key liquidity provider for CME Group’s crypto derivatives suite, reporting over $1.5 trillion in trading volume across more than 400 tokens for approximately 600 institutions.

The firm has sought strategic expansion in institutional crypto markets, acquiring derivatives platform Arbelos Markets in January 2025 and partnering with liquidity and data solutions provider TP ICAP’s Fusion Digital Assets in February of last year.

Meanwhile, CME Group reports that its crypto derivatives market has shown substantial growth, with average daily volume reaching 202,000 contracts in early 2025, marking a 73% year-over-year increase. The exchange also noted an average open interest of 243,600 contracts, up 55% year-over-year, with over 11,300 unique accounts trading its crypto products.

On centralized crypto exchanges, Solana derivatives have demonstrated a 66% volume increase to $7.24 billion, reflecting a bullish bias with multiple long/short ratios above 2, despite approximately $12.29 million in 24-hour liquidations, according to data from Coinglass.

Currently, Solana is down 6.4% to $127, continuing to feel pressure following its January all-time high near $293.31, as per CoinGecko data.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair