Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO:BCH) surged as much as 30% to $348 from a previous close of $267. This jump followed CME Group’s announcement that it plans to list Bitcoin Cash futures. In comparison, three cryptocurrencies—Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA), Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK), and Stellar (CRYPTO:XLM)—didn’t see such positive movement following their own futures announcements earlier this year.
BCH traded at $351, up 55.6% for the week but still 42.5% lower for the year. So what happened to Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar after their futures listings, and what does this mean for Bitcoin Cash?
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CME Plans to List Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap Futures on October 19
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CME Group announced on September 22 that it intends to launch futures for both Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap (CRYPTO:UNI) on October 19, pending regulatory review. Each asset will have a standard contract and a smaller micro contract, with Bitcoin Cash contracts covering 250 BCH or 25 BCH, and Uniswap covering 10,000 UNI or 1,000 UNI.
A futures contract lets investors speculate on a cryptocurrency’s future price without exchanging the asset. CME operates under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which enables banks and funds, restricted from trading on offshore crypto exchanges, to participate. Giovanni Vicioso, CME’s head of cryptocurrency products, stated that participants “require broader, regulated tools to navigate evolving digital asset-related price risk.”
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Interestingly, the announcement had different effects on the coins involved. While UNI saw a marginal gain of around 5% shortly after the news, Bitcoin Cash continued to climb throughout the day, trading at approximately two and a half times the volume of the previous session.
Cardano and Chainlink Lost More Than a Third Before Their CME Futures Launched
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On January 15, 2026, CME Group revealed its plans to introduce futures for Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar on February 9. After the announcement, Cardano and Stellar fell slightly, while Chainlink’s price remained stable, showing little reaction compared with Bitcoin Cash’s surge.
Over the next three and a half weeks, however, the situation worsened for these coins. Cardano dropped from $0.40 to $0.26—a 35% decline—and Chainlink fell from around $14 to below $9, down 38%. When trading began on February 9, the first transactions took place between several firms, including FalconX and Marex, at prices well below their January levels.
Fast forward eight months after the announcement, and these three cryptocurrencies have diverged in performance. Chainlink is up 7.3% for 2026, while Stellar is up 8.2%. Conversely, Cardano has declined 23.5%, showing how the same type of contract on the same exchange can produce vastly different outcomes.
A Grayscale ETF Filing Helps Explain Why Bitcoin Cash Moved Harder
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One factor contributing to Bitcoin Cash’s price surge that Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar did not benefit from is the recent Grayscale ETF filing. In September, Grayscale updated its registration with the SEC to list the Bitcoin Cash Trust on NYSE Arca under the ticker BCHG, a year after its initial filing in September 2025.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Cash Trust holds Bitcoin Cash, meaning an approved ETF would purchase the coin, unlike CME’s futures contracts, which settle in cash and do not involve the actual coin. Additionally, Bitcoin hit its highest price since January on September 22, contributing to the overall rally, as Bitcoin SV, another offshoot, rose about 20% alongside BCH.
Will Bitcoin Cash Fade As Cardano and Chainlink Did?
Bitcoin Cash could drop similarly to Cardano and Chainlink if futures listings are its only driving force. Both Cardano and Chainlink lost over a third of their value between the announcement and the launch of their futures. Moreover, Bitcoin Cash starts from a weaker position, down 42.5% for 2026 and 38.3% over the past twelve months, making the recent surge less impactful overall.
However, BCH has an advantage in the Grayscale filing, which the earlier coins did not have. If the SEC approves the BCHG listing, the fund could purchase Bitcoin Cash with each incoming dollar, similar to how U.S. spot XRP funds have acquired XRP, taking in $1.71 billion since November 2025. If Bitcoin Cash falls back below $267, approximately 24% below the current $351 price, it may indicate fading momentum before futures contracts even start trading on October 19.
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