Two major Solana (SOL) whales withdrew over 95,000 SOL from Binance in the space of two hours, according to on-chain data from Lookonchain. The withdrawals came after a major announcement by CME Group regarding Solana futures trading.
According to Lookonchain observations:
- The AHdUMw…qMnj wallet withdrew 54,544 SOL (approximately $7.46 million) from Binance two hours ago.
- The 7i6FUR…kp5J wallet withdrew 41,096 SOL (approximately $6.96 million) from Binance an hour ago.
The whale activity appears to be a reaction to CME Group’s announcement that it plans to launch futures contracts on Solana on March 17, 2025. CME, a leading global derivatives market, plans to launch two types of Solana futures contracts:
- A standard contract representing 500 SOL.
- A micro-scale contract representing 25 SOLs.
“We are responding to increasing client demand for a broader set of regulated products to manage cryptocurrency price risk,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME.
If approved, the launch of Solana futures could pave the way for Solana-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Firms such as VanEck, 21Shares and Franklin Templeton have already filed for spot Solana ETFs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with the earliest filings set for June 2024.
Industry experts suggest the SEC may want to observe several months of trading activity in a regulated Solana futures market before granting ETF approvals. The launch of CME’s futures contracts “significantly increases” the likelihood of ETF approval, said Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks.
Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, noted that CME’s Solana futures will be cash-settled, which is seen as a positive factor for ETF applications. The futures will be based on the CME CF Solana USD Reference Rate, which is used as the reference for daily SOL/USD pricing and is calculated each day at 4:00 p.m. London time.
*This is not investment advice.
