TechFlow news, March 18 — According to The Block, analysis firm K33 noted that the first-day trading performance of Solana futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) was lackluster, with only $12.3 million in trading volume—significantly below the debut performances of Bitcoin and Ethereum futures on the platform. In a report released Tuesday, K33 research head Vetle Lunde and senior analyst David Zimmerman stated that this tepid initial performance may indicate institutional investors remain cautious toward crypto assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, potentially affecting market acceptance and capital inflows for future Solana ETF products.
In comparison, Bitcoin futures debuted on CME in December 2017 with $102.7 million in first-day trading volume and $20.9 million in open interest. Ethereum futures generated $31 million in trading volume and $20 million in open interest on their first day of trading at CME in February 2021.
The analysts acknowledged that compared to the bullish peak in December 2017 and the early phase of the altcoin season in February 2021, Solana futures were launched in a relatively risk-averse environment, with no major catalysts driving market activity on launch day. They also pointed out that, when adjusted for market capitalization, Solana’s first-day performance is relatively closer to prior launches. However, in absolute terms, the initial trading scale remains far smaller than that of the previous two.
