Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser2010)
On May 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released 24/7 trading regulatory guidelines, emphasizing that due to the digital infrastructure and characteristics of global continuous trading, crypto asset-related derivatives are more suitable for round-the-clock trading and clearing.
This means that the United States has finally opened up, which was previously regarded as a "no-go zone for crypto perpetual contracts." The U.S. has ignited another flame to become the "crypto capital."
Many crypto trading platforms and traditional exchanges have reacted swiftly, launching corresponding trading entrances.
The biggest gift from the U.S. CFTC to the crypto market: open 24/7 perpetual markets
According to incomplete statistics, in 2025, the trading volume of crypto derivatives perpetual contracts is estimated to be between 60 trillion to 85 trillion U.S. dollars, with a single-day peak trading volume reaching 750 billion U.S. dollars; this accounts for about 75% to 80% of the total crypto trading volume.(Odaily Planet Daily note: Kalshi reports that the total trading volume of this market will exceed 90 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025)
However, for U.S. crypto platforms, the regulations have not provided clear rules for this huge cake.
Now, the U.S. CFTC has officially opened this market, which previously had almost zero share, to U.S. citizens and some domestic crypto platforms and CEM exchanges. Furthermore, U.S. institutions and individual users can now trade crypto perpetual contracts seamlessly 24/7, eliminating the past "time difference."
U.S. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that this is a historic step to "bring the most active global crypto derivatives into the U.S. regulatory framework." The regulatory action has also rapidly triggered the execution capabilities of leading crypto platforms.
Direct beneficiaries of the new policy: Kalshi, Coinbase, CME
That day, the U.S. CFTC issued a listing approval to the designated contract market KalshiEX, LLC, agreeing to list the perpetual contract BTCPERP, which references the Bitcoin spot price, as a futures product. This contract was submitted for approval on May 29, 2026, under CFTC "Regulation 40.3." Additionally, Kalshi plans to launch more than ten types of crypto perpetual contracts in the future.
Furthermore, Coinbase announced that it has become the first and currently the only U.S. futures commission merchant (FCM) regulated by the U.S. CFTC, providing U.S. customers access to the global crypto derivatives market, including crypto perpetual contracts and options (connecting with platforms such as Deribit, where the open interest in Bitcoin options exceeds 31 billion U.S. dollars); at the same time, Coinbase was also approved to use customer crypto assets/stablecoins as collateral (with reuse rights conditions).
Finally, the traditional trading platform CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) is also a direct beneficiary of this policy change. Its Bitcoin futures and options on the Globex platform will transition to 24/7 trading starting this Friday, ending the previous set market closure from Friday to Sunday, allowing institutional clients to hedge spot volatility seamlessly.
However, this does not mean that trading volume will suddenly surge—despite the end of the "CME gap" formed due to weekend market closures, market liquidity is still primarily concentrated in ETF options and offshore perpetual contracts; the scale of IBIT options open interest is significantly higher than that of the CME crypto options market. Currently, large traders' short positions continue to decline, and short-term short pressure has weakened, but long positions have yet to show a clear trend.
The cautious attitude behind the U.S. CFTC's announcement: the difference in commodities and the strengthening of authority
Yesterday, besides issuing a "No-Action Letter" to the Coinbase platform, the U.S. CFTC also specifically emphasized two points:
- Traditional commodity derivatives, such as agricultural products, may not be suitable for a fully 24/7 round-the-clock operation due to regional and trading structure characteristics;
- Regulated trading platforms, swap execution facilities, derivatives clearing organizations, and futures brokers must comply with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and relevant regulatory rules while expanding 24/7 trading, and proactively assess risk management and operational arrangements.
In other words, 24/7 perpetual trading for commodities such as agricultural products is currently not allowed; and any institution wanting to open derivatives for 24/7 trading must communicate in advance with CFTC staff, submitting detailed plans and risk analyses, with the CFTC reviewing compliance on a case-by-case basis.
Thus, it is evident that the U.S. CFTC's action is more like a "special case" for crypto assets, opening doors for more crypto platforms to launch derivative segments, further strengthening its authority in crypto asset derivative regulation.
Industry insiders' reactions: overwhelming praise and support
The U.S. CFTC's regulatory guidelines represent that U.S. crypto derivatives have truly achieved localized round-the-clock trading, with many local users previously excluded from the U.S. market expected to quickly return, further enhancing local institutional participation, capital efficiency, and to some extent reducing risk management costs (rollover costs, weekend time gaps).
Strategy founder Michael Saylor stated that the CFTC guidelines promote the development of Bitcoin capital markets, including round-the-clock trading, BTC collateral, perpetual futures, options, and regulated access. This will be beneficial for BTC holders, supporting MSTR's development, and endorsing STRC as a Bitcoin-backed digital credit development.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong cheered:
“U.S. users have always been excluded from this 80% share of the global crypto market (including perpetual futures and options). But now it's different!”
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated, “This signifies that Kalshi is evolving from a prediction market leader to a next-generation derivatives exchange; secure, regulated perpetual contracts in the U.S. will improve capital allocation and risk management for countless U.S. businesses.”
Such statements from beneficiaries are understandable, while some external observers interpret this as "opening the Pandora's box of speculation."
U.S. public welfare third-party organizations: CFTC neglects public interest and investor protection
After the 2008 financial crisis, the third-party consumer protection organization Better Markets officially stated, “Retail investors are unlikely to fully understand the risks posed by perpetual futures. We urged the CFTC last year to require enhanced disclosures that could be more easily understood by retail investors. Unfortunately, the CFTC not only failed to require such enhanced disclosures, but also seems to have completely ignored the risks posed by the products it approved.”
“The CFTC's action lacks the decorum expected from a regulatory agency. However, considering that Coinbase and Kalshi serve as advising organizations on the CFTC's two advisory committees, this is not surprising. It is clear that the CFTC's work is not for public interest or investor protection, but rather for the industries it is supposed to regulate.”
The remarks directly point to potential conflicts of interest or some level of internal collaboration between the U.S. CFTC, Coinbase, and Kalshi.
The U.S. market is set to welcome an explosion of derivatives trading
Apart from the direct beneficiaries mentioned above, the U.S. crypto exchange Kraken also stated that it plans to launch the first futures product regulated by the U.S. CFTC in the U.S. market within the next 30 days. Currently, the perpetual futures on Kraken Pro are provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC (operating under Kraken Derivatives US), which is a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant; related spot margin and perpetual futures products will be provided on Bitnomial Exchange (Odaily Planet Daily note: the latter is a CFTC-regulated exchange, recently acquired by Kraken's parent company Payward).
Setting aside polarizing evaluations, the door to the trillion-dollar perpetual derivatives market is slowly opening to U.S. users.
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