CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, announced plans to introduce options on Solana (SOL) and XRP futures starting October 13, 2025, pending regulatory approval. The move expands beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, giving traders more tools to manage exposure to two fast-growing digital assets.

The new contracts will include both standard and micro-sized options with daily, monthly, and quarterly expiries, offering flexibility for institutions and active traders alike. CME highlighted the rapid growth of its Solana and XRP futures, with record trading volumes and open interest in August 2025. More than $22 billion in Solana futures and $16 billion in XRP futures have been traded since launch.

Industry leaders welcomed the announcement. Cumberland praised CME for broadening crypto offerings, while FalconX noted the rising demand for institutional hedging tools. With strong adoption and liquidity, this development underscores the increasing role of Solana and XRP in the global crypto market, signaling mainstream momentum for digital assets.

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Visions of future technology are often prescient about the broad strokes while flubbing the details. The tablets in “2001: A Space Odyssey” do indeed look like iPads, but you never see the astronauts paying for subscriptions or wasting hours on Candy Crush. 

Channel factories are one vision that arose early in the history of the Lightning Network to address some challenges that Lightning has faced from the beginning. Despite having grown to become Bitcoin’s most successful layer-2 scaling solution, with instant and low-fee payments, Lightning’s scale is limited by its reliance on payment channels. Although Lightning shifts most transactions off-chain, each payment channel…

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The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is moving to ease certain rules for cryptocurrency companies, signaling a more supportive approach to the fast-growing sector. According to a Financial Times report, the regulator will waive some traditional financial requirements, recognizing that crypto firms operate differently from banks and investment platforms.

While rules will be relaxed in several areas, the FCA plans to tighten regulations around industry-specific risks, such as cyberattacks. Firms may face less strict requirements regarding senior managers, systems, and controls, as cryptocurrency companies are not seen as posing the same systemic risk as traditional finance institutions. Customers may also forego cooling-off periods, reflecting the volatile nature of crypto prices.

David Geale, FCA executive director for payments and digital finance, emphasized that existing financial rules cannot simply be “lifted and dropped” onto crypto. The regulator aims to fully integrate cryptocurrency into its framework by 2026, adapting oversight to support innovation while addressing unique risks in the digital asset market.

Financial Times

In a significant development for corporate Bitcoin adoption, BTC Inc. and Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: STRF/STRC/STRK/STRD/MSTR) have announced a five-year renewal of their strategic partnership for the Bitcoin for Corporations (BFC) initiative. The partnership aims to accelerate global corporate Bitcoin adoption through 2030, with BFC currently representing 38 member companies that collectively hold 69% of all corporate Bitcoin holdings.

The renewed agreement strengthens BFC’s position as the primary platform for Bitcoin treasury companies, service providers, and capital allocators working to integrate Bitcoin into corporate balance sheets. The initiative’s global reach now spans…

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Metaplanet, the Tokyo-based hospitality and real estate group turned Bitcoin treasury company, is accelerating its crypto strategy with the launch of two new subsidiaries. In Miami, the firm has established Metaplanet Income Corp., backed by $15 million in initial capital. The unit will focus on Bitcoin income generation and derivatives trading, creating a clear separation between the company’s core BTC holdings and revenue-generating operations. CEO Simon Gerovich will oversee the subsidiary alongside Dylan LeClair and Darren Winia.

In Tokyo, the company unveiled Bitcoin Japan Inc., headquartered in Roppongi Hills. The entity will drive domestic Bitcoin initiatives, overseeing media operations, events, and the management of the Bitcoin dot jp domain. It will also manage Bitcoin Magazine Japan and the Bitcoin Japan Conference, expanding Metaplanet’s presence in the country’s growing crypto community. Directors Gerovich and Yoshihisa Ikurumi will lead the initiative.

The moves come as Metaplanet strengthens its Bitcoin income business, launched late 2024. With 20,136 BTC on its balance sheet, the company is now the sixth-largest Bitcoin holder worldwide, trailing only giants like MicroStrategy and Mara Holdings.

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