CME Group To Launch Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar Futures Amid Crypto Lineup Expansion – Details

[Ben Graham]

Leading derivatives exchange CME plans to add futures contracts tied to Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) to continue growing its roster of regulated crypto derivatives.

CME Adds New Altcoins To Crypto Derivatives Lineup

On Thursday, Chicago-based derivatives exchange CME Group announced a new expansion of its lineup of regulated crypto derivatives with the upcoming inclusion of Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures.

According to the announcement, the new crypto additions are expected to launch on February 9, 2026, although they are still pending regulatory review. In addition, they will offer both micro-sized and larger-sized contracts for the three cryptocurrencies.

For the standard Cardano futures, the contract will cover 100,000 ADA, while the micro-sized ADA futures will consist of 10,000 tokens. In addition, the Chainlink and Stellar’s large-sized futures will be set at 5,000 LINK and 250,000 XLM, respectively, while the small-sized contracts will cover 250 LINK and 12,500 XLM.

The upcoming Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures contracts build on the derivatives exchange’s existing crypto suite, which includes four of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

In 2017, CME first launched Bitcoin (BTC) futures, followed by the introduction of Ethereum (ETH) futures in 2021. In the first half of 2025, the Chicago-based exchange added Solana (SOL) and XRP futures to its lineup, introducing options for both cryptocurrencies later in the year.

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, highlighted the industry’s expansion and development over the past few years, affirming that “given crypto’s record growth over the last year, clients are looking for trusted, regulated products to manage price risk as well as additional tools to gain exposure to this dynamic market.”

“With these new micro- and larger-size Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures contracts, market participants will now have greater choice with enhanced flexibility and more capital-efficiencies,” he added.

Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar Price Reaction

Despite the positive development, the trajectory of ADA, LINK, and XLM remained mostly unchanged, with the three altcoins continuing their intraday correction. Chainlink and Stellar both saw 4% declines from their Thursday highs, falling to the $13.60 and $0.225 levels.

LINK has momentarily lost the $13.80 level as support and is attempting to hold the current area to prevent further bleeding. Similarly, XLM was also rejected from the Wednesday highs and bounced from the $0.230 before continuing its descent toward its two-day low.

Meanwhile, ADA was attempting to reclaim the $0.41 area ahead of the announcement, briefly bouncing from the recent pullback. Notably, Cardano surged over 10% from the recent lows toward the crucial $0.42-$0.43 area.

However, the altcoin was rejected from this zone on Wednesday, retracing nearly 9% from the local highs to retest the $0.40 level. On Thursday morning, the cryptocurrency bounced from this area, but ultimately resumed its correction as the day progressed.

As a result, Cardano has retraced most of this week’s gains, currently trading around the $0.391 mark.