During a recent earnings call, Terry Duffy, the leader of CME Group, stated the exchange is contemplating the creation of a CME-branded token. This initiative is part of a broader exploration of how tokenized assets might function as collateral in financial markets.

Duffy highlighted:

Not only are we looking at tokenized cash […] we’re looking at different initiatives with our own coin that we could potentially put on a decentralized network for other of our industry participants to use.

Additionally, he mentioned that collateral from a “systemically important financial institution” may provide more security to market players compared to tokens from lesser-known banks.

His remarks about tokenized cash indicate a partnership with Google, initiated in March, for piloting blockchain infrastructure for payments and asset tokenization using Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger.

The potential CME token would represent a separate effort, and its operational details are still under wraps.

CME has been at the forefront of futures and options markets covering a range of instruments including interest rates, equities, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this year, CME announced intentions to diversify its cryptocurrency products by including futures contracts tied to Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM). In a separate agreement, the exchange established a partnership with Nasdaq to align their crypto index offerings under the newly formed Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index.

In 2026, pending regulatory savvies, CME also plans on introducing 24/7 trading for cryptocurrency futures and options.