XRP Officially Goes Live on CME Benchmarks

XRP officially goes live on CME, as the derivatives platform adds benchmarks tracking the asset following the initial announcement weeks ago.

Recall that The Crypto Basic confirmed on July 11 that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), one of the world’s largest derivatives platforms, had announced its intentions to list XRP benchmarks. The aim was to provide traders with transparent pricing data.

CME Officially Lists XRP Benchmarks

In the most recent development, CME has now added XRP benchmarks to its platform, per the earlier announcement. Notably, a quick look at the official CME platform confirms the listing of two XRP benchmarks: the Real-time Index for the XRP/USD pair (XRPUSD_RTI) and the Reference Rate for the XRP/USD pair (XRPUSD_RR).

The Reference Rate (XRPUSD_RR) is a daily measure of the U.S. dollar value of XRP. CME calculates it once per day using trading data from select crypto exchanges. However, the Real-time Index (XRPUSD_RTI) provides a continuous and up-to-the-minute price of XRP against the U.S. dollar, updated constantly.

CME calculates the rates using a methodology that typically involves taking an average of the trading prices of XRP on select cryptocurrency exchanges including Bitstamp and Coinbase over a specific time period. This helps to reduce the impact of short-term price volatility and outliers.

Notably, the rate can pass as a reference in financial contracts, derivatives, and other financial instruments related to XRP. CME typically provides these rates in collaboration with Crypto Facilities (CF), a UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform. 

XRP Under the Payment Sub-Category

Interestingly, having listed XRP, CME places the cryptocurrency under the “Payment and Store of Value” sub-category. This move has caught the attention of XRP community members, who have persistently argued that XRP is a payment utility token. 

Notably, the latest development comes one year after Judge Analisa Torres declared XRP a non-security in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. Before now, XRP had witnessed intense legal pressure, being under scrutiny as a security or not. This resulted in multiple platforms either delisting it or failing to recognize it to avoid legal issues with the SEC. 

One of the major drivers of cryptocurrency adoption is visibility. Notably, part of this visibility involves an easy-to-access public sphere providing real-time rates for the cryptocurrency in question. 

CME provides such publicity through its benchmarks. However, it was not until recently that the platform expressed interest in including XRP despite the token being around for over a decade.