U.S. Regulator Opens the American Market to Crypto Perpetual Futures

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency that oversees derivatives markets, issued its first approvals for domestically listed crypto perpetual futures, contracts that track an asset's price without a fixed expiry date. The approvals went to the exchange operators Kalshi and Coinbase, CoinDesk reported.

For years this market, one of the most heavily traded in crypto, existed almost entirely outside the United States, routing American demand to offshore venues. CFTC Chairman Selig wrote that the change brings that activity onshore and lets regulated U.S. firms route domestic traders into global crypto derivatives, Bitcoin Magazine reported.

The agency drew a line around the change. In a related advisory it said round-the-clock, 24-hour trading suits crypto but may not be appropriate for other sectors of the market. The opening arrives as bitcoin trades near $73,100, well below last year's levels, a reminder that wider access to leverage can magnify losses as readily as gains.