Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010 )
On May 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued 24/7 trading regulatory guidance, emphasizing that, due to their digital infrastructure and global continuous trading features, crypto asset-related derivatives are more suitable for around-the-clock trading and clearing.
This means that the United States, previously seen as a "no-go zone" for crypto perpetual contracts, has opened up for the first time. Another fire has been added to the U.S. becoming the "crypto capital."
Numerous crypto trading platforms and traditional exchanges have acted on the news, launching corresponding trading entrances.
The Biggest Gift from the US CFTC to the Crypto Market: Opening the 24/7 Perpetual Market
According to incomplete statistics, in 2025, the trading volume of crypto derivatives perpetual contracts ranged between 60 trillion and 85 trillion USD, with a single-day peak reaching 750 billion USD; accounting for about 75% to 80% of total crypto trading volume.(Odaily Planet Daily Note:Kalshi stated that this market's total trading volume exceeded 90 trillion USD in 2025)
However, for U.S. crypto platforms, regulators had not provided clear rules for this huge cake.
Now, the U.S. CFTC has officially opened this market, which originally had virtually a 0% share, to U.S. citizens and certain domestic crypto platforms and CEM exchanges. Meanwhile, U.S. institutions and individual users can now trade crypto perpetual contracts seamlessly 24/7, eliminating the previous "time difference."
U.S. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig called this a historic step "bringing the world's most active crypto derivatives into the U.S. regulatory framework." Regulatory actions also quickly triggered execution from leading crypto platforms.
Direct Beneficiaries of the New Policy: Kalshi, Coinbase, CME
On the same day, the U.S. CFTC issued a listing approval order to the designated contract market KalshiEX, LLC, agreeing to list the Bitcoin spot price-referenced perpetual contract BTCPERP as a futures product for trading. This contract was submitted for approval under CFTC Regulation 40.3 on May 29, 2026. Additionally, Kalshi plans to launch over a dozen crypto perpetual contracts subsequently.
Furthermore, Coinbase announced becoming the first and currently only U.S.-based Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) regulated by the CFTC, providing U.S. clients access to the global crypto derivatives market, including crypto perpetual contracts and options(connecting to platforms like Deribit, whose Bitcoin options open interest exceeds 31 billion USD); simultaneously, Coinbase also received approval to allow the use of client crypto assets/stablecoins as margin (subject to rehypothecation conditions).
Finally, the traditional exchange CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) is also a direct beneficiary of this policy change. Bitcoin futures and options on its Globex platform will transition to 24/7 trading starting this Friday, ending the previous fixed weekend closure, allowing institutional clients to hedge spot volatility seamlessly.
However, this does not mean trading volume will suddenly surge—despite the end of the "CME gap" formed by weekend closures, market liquidity remains concentrated in ETF options and offshore perpetual contracts; the open interest scale of IBIT options is significantly higher than the CME crypto options market. Currently, large traders' short positions continue to decline, reducing short-term selling pressure, but long-term positioning has not yet formed a clear trend.
Cautious Attitude Behind the CFTC Statement: Commodity Differentiation and Reinforcing Authority
Yesterday, apart from issuing a "No-Action Letter" to Coinbase, the relevant U.S. CFTC department specifically emphasized two things:
- Traditional commodity derivatives like agricultural products, due to regional and trading structure characteristics, may not be suitable for full 24/7 operation;
- Regulated trading platforms, swap execution facilities, derivatives clearing organizations, and futures commission merchants must comply with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related regulatory rules when expanding 24/7 trading, and proactively assess risk management and operational arrangements.
In other words, 24/7 perpetual trading for commodities like agricultural products is currently not allowed; and any institution wishing to offer 24/7 derivative trading must communicate with CFTC staff in advance, submit 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 move is more like a "special treatment" for crypto assets, opening a door for more crypto platforms to launch derivative products, further strengthening its regulatory authority over crypto asset derivatives.
Industry Insider Evaluation: Overwhelming Praise and Support
The U.S. CFTC's regulatory guidance represents the true localization of 24/7 trading for crypto derivatives in the U.S. market. Liquidity from many domestic users previously excluded from the U.S. market is expected to return rapidly, further increasing participation from domestic institutions, capital efficiency, and to some extent reducing risk management costs (rollover costs, weekend time gaps).
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor posted, stating that the CFTC guidance promotes the development of Bitcoin capital markets, including 24/7 trading, BTC collateral, perpetual futures, options, and regulated access. This will benefit BTC holders, provide support for MSTR's development, and support STRC as a Bitcoin-backed digital credit development.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong cheered: "U.S. users have been excluded from this 80% of the global crypto market (including perpetual futures and options). But now it's different!"
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated, "This marks Kalshi's evolution from a prediction market leader to a next-generation derivatives exchange. U.S.-based, secure, and regulated perpetual contracts will improve capital allocation and risk management for countless U.S. businesses."
Such statements from beneficiaries are understandable, while some external observers interpret it as "opening Pandora's box of speculative behavior."
U.S. Public Interest Third-Party Organization: CFTC Disregards Public Interest and Investor Protection
Better Markets, a third-party consumer protection organization established after the 2008 financial crisis, 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 are easier for retail investors to understand. Unfortunately, the CFTC not only did not require such enhanced disclosures but seemed to completely ignore the risks faced by the products it approved."
"The CFTC's action lacks the demeanor befitting a regulatory agency. However, considering Coinbase and Kalshi serve as advisory bodies on two of the CFTC's advisory committees, this is not surprising. Clearly, the CFTC's work is not for the public interest or investor protection, but for the industries it is supposed to regulate."
The statement directly implies that the U.S. CFTC may have undisclosed dealings or a certain level of internal cooperation with Coinbase and Kalshi.
The U.S. Market to Enter a Period of Derivatives Trading Explosion
Apart from the direct beneficiaries mentioned above, U.S. crypto exchange Kraken also stated plans to launch the first CFTC-regulated perpetual futures product for the U.S. market within the next 30 days. Currently, perpetual futures on Kraken Pro are provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC (operating under the name Kraken Derivatives US), 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 polarized commentary, the door to the tens-of-trillions-dollar perpetual derivatives market is slowly opening for U.S. users.
