CFTC readies US rules for crypto perps

TLDR

US derivatives regulator CFTC is preparing rules to allow fully regulated crypto perpetual futures to trade onshore in the United States.

1. CFTC chair Michael Selig says a framework for "true perpetual futures" could arrive within about a month, aiming to clarify how crypto perps can be listed in the US.
2. The move targets a huge market currently offshore, where Bitcoin perps alone see tens of billions of dollars in daily volume while US regulated perps capture only a tiny share.
3. The key variables will be leverage limits, which assets qualify as CFTC products, and how these rules interact with broader crypto market structure legislation.

Deep Dive

1. What The CFTC Is Actually Doing

At a Milken Institute event, CFTC chair Michael Selig said the agency is preparing a regulatory framework for crypto perpetual futures that he expects to finalize in "the next month or so," aiming for "true perpetual futures" in the US rather than workarounds with expiries or unusual structures. A detailed account of his remarks notes that the goal is to bring these products formally under CFTC oversight as part of a broader initiative often described as Project Crypto, coordinated with SEC chair Paul Atkins and ongoing work on prediction markets and event contracts. Reports from multiple outlets, including a Finance Magnates summary of Selig's comments and a Cointelegraph writeup, are consistent on the timeline and intent.

Selig has framed this as both a competitiveness issue and a protection issue: past US policy pushed perpetuals and their liquidity offshore, and the new rules are meant to bring that activity back under US risk management and clearing standards.

2. Why Perps Rules Matter For Crypto

Perpetual futures, or perps, are leveraged derivatives with no expiry that use a funding rate to keep prices near spot. They dominate trading on major offshore venues. One recent analysis estimates that Bitcoin perps and related derivatives see around 85 billion dollars of open interest globally, while US regulated Bitcoin perps capture only about 1.4 billion dollars in daily volume and roughly 0.3 percent of outstanding leverage, according to CryptoSlate's breakdown of the market.

That gap exists largely because US traders are either blocked from standard offshore perp venues or can only access partial substitutes onshore. A clear CFTC rulebook would make it easier for US exchanges and futures venues to list standardized perps, and for institutions to use them for hedging under familiar futures margin, clearing, and segregation rules.

3. What To Watch Next

Several open questions will determine how impactful these rules are:

1. Scope of products. The framework will likely focus first on Bitcoin and possibly a small set of high liquidity assets classified as "digital commodities" under CFTC jurisdiction, while securities like many token launches remain under the SEC.
2. Leverage and protections. Europe is moving the other way, with ESMA signaling that crypto perps should be treated like CFDs with strict leverage caps and retail protections, as discussed in the same Finance Magnates report. Where the CFTC sets margin and leverage will decide how competitive US perps are versus offshore.
3. Interaction with legislation. In parallel, the CLARITY Act and related bills aim to settle the SEC versus CFTC split on digital assets. If Congress gives the CFTC clearer authority over a broad class of tokens, later expansions of perps coverage could follow.

Confidence: high, based on multiple consistent regulator statements and detailed press coverage in the last 24 hours.

Conclusion

CFTC driven rules for crypto perpetual futures would mark a significant shift from an offshore dominated derivatives market toward onshore, supervised trading. The upside is better access and clearer hedging tools for US participants under established futures safeguards. The tradeoff is how the CFTC balances competitiveness with limits on leverage and asset eligibility. The details of that balance, and how it meshes with broader market structure laws, will decide whether this is a modest tweak or a true reshaping of global crypto derivatives flows.