Coinbase Global has added support for XRP and LTC perpetual futures contracts, two of the largest cryptocurrencies in the market. Following the listing, the two tokens have posted minor gains against Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
At the time of writing this article, Litecoin is exchanging hands at $92, according to Coinmarketcap, and it’s the 12th largest virtual currency in the market. Similarly, XRP is being traded at $0.69 with a market capitalization of $36 billion.
It is worth taking into consideration that these perpetual contracts are only available to institutional traders. The announcement comes close on the heels of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] asking the top exchange to delist all virtual currencies with the exception of Bitcoin [BTC].
Both tokens are in the limelight for various reasons. Ripple-affiliated XRP recently notched a landmark victory against the US market watchdog when Judge Torres ruled that Ripple Labs Inc. did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges.
On the other hand, Litecoin’s third halving commenced on August 2, which is touted to alter the dynamics of the altcoin, reducing the miner block reward from 12.5 to a mere 6.25 Litecoin per transaction block. The event has also sparked an exponential surge in LTC holders, strengthening its presence in the crypto payment landscape.
Meanwhile, the platform’s futures exchange logged roughly $2 billion in volumes last month, even though momentum slowed over the course of the month.
Coinbase Futures Exchange’s Volume Soared In July
According to data from The Block, Coinbase’s “global expansion strategy” has paid off handsomely after the Bermuda-based futures exchange’s volume during the month of July surpassed about $2 billion. Notably, the offshore division’s first two contracts—bitcoin and ether perpetual futures—were introduced in May.
However, according to Coinbase International, the volume traded across the two contracts was only $1.963 billion, gradually declining throughout the month. Nevertheless, the exchange’s latest endeavor only accounts for a minuscule percentage of the overall market for crypto futures. Since the new market is still in its early stages, it might take some time for liquidity to rise and attract new users from existing exchanges, as reported by TronWeekly.