Coinbase logo on iPhone display screen and crypto currency value charts. Source: mehaniq41 - stock.adobe.com

Key Takeaways:

Coinbase Institutional has filed with the CFTC to launch monthly, cash-settled XRP futures contracts under the symbol XRL.
The XRP futures are expected to begin trading on April 21, each representing 10,000 XRP tokens, settled in USD.
Despite the initiative, XRP funding rates remain negative, indicating persistent bearish sentiment.

Coinbase Institutional has filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch XRP futures contracts, with a planned start date of April 21.

The proposed contracts will be monthly, cash-settled, and margined, each representing 10,000 XRP tokens, valued around $20,000 at $2 per XRP.

We're excited to announce that Coinbase Derivatives has filed with the CFTC to self-certify $XRP futures – bringing a regulated, capital-efficient way to gain exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets.

We anticipate the contract going live on April 21, 2025.

Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/nKUPjjnMKW
— Coinbase Institutional 🛡️ (@CoinbaseInsto) April 3, 2025

Trading will occur under the symbol XRL and will be available for the current and two upcoming months.

A built-in safeguard will pause trading if XRP’s spot price moves over 10% within an hour.

Despite this initiative, XRP’s funding rates remain negative, reflecting bearish sentiment in the market.

Coinbase stated that Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and market participants have expressed support for the product launch.

This move marks Coinbase’s entry into regulated XRP derivatives trading, following Bitnomial’s recent debut of CFTC-approved XRP futures in March.

While this would be Coinbase’s first XRP futures offering, such products are already available globally on major platforms like Binance, OKX, Bybit, and BitMEX.

Coinbase sees this as a step toward offering regulated, capital-efficient exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets in the crypto space.