Why Solana Is Sinking Today

Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) was losing ground in Thursday trading, having dropped by 3.2% over the previous 24 hours as of 12:15 p.m. ET. Over the same period, Bitcoin was up 0.5% and Ethereum was down 1.5%.

Solana's fall came after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said that it does not have a plan to begin offering futures for the token as an investment vehicle. The CME currently offers options trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum, and some investors have been hoping that options trading for Solana could help send its token price higher.

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Solana slips following "leak" clarification

Solana's price had recently seen some bullish momentum in conjunction with a beta page that was briefly available on CME's website that suggested options trading for both Solana and XRP could begin on Feb. 10. That page was regarded as a leak by some investors in the crypto space.

However, the financial services company has come out and said that the beta page being accessible was an error, and that no decision about offering futures options for Solana and XRP has been made. According to a CME spokesperson, the page was simply a mock-up from a test section full of similar mock-ups, and that these test pages aren't indications that any plans have been made for the offerings they refer to.

What's next for Solana?

While CME says that it's made no official determinations about whether it will offer futures trading for Solana and XRP, it's still possible that it will roll out options for these cryptocurrencies. Notably, Solana and XRP have been named as possible candidates for inclusion in a U.S. cryptocurrency reserve project promoted by President Trump.

According to reports, Trump and his crypto team want to structure the proposed crypto reserve around tokens that originated in the U.S. If Solana were to be added to such a state-backed crypto reserve system, it could create substantial bullish pricing catalysts for the token. It could also encourage CME and other financial services firms to offer options trading for it.

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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends CME Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.