Key Takeaways
- • SGX received CFTC authorization under Regulation 48.10, allowing U.S. institutional investors to trade its bitcoin and ether perpetual futures directly, without SGX registering as a U.S. exchange.
- • SGX's crypto perpetual futures, launched in late November 2025, have processed $5.8 billion in cumulative traded volume, or roughly 400,000 lots.
- • Bitcoin accounts for 66% of open interest and 83% of daily average volume since launch; the busiest single day saw 11,500 lots, equal to $145 million in notional value.
- • SGX uses margin calls and collateral top-ups rather than automatic liquidations, and excludes stablecoins as eligible collateral.
- • SGX plans to launch dated futures and options on bitcoin and ether as its next product step, with onboarding of U.S. clients expected over the next one to two months.
Summary
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has obtained authorization from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under Regulation 48.10, enabling U.S. institutional investors to trade its bitcoin and ether perpetual futures directly. According to the original report, Regulation 48.10 allows a registered Foreign Board of Trade, an overseas exchange recognized by the CFTC, to give U.S. participants direct access to its trading system without establishing a separate, fully U.S.-regulated exchange.
KC Lam, head of crypto derivatives at SGX Group, told CoinDesk that U.S. participants previously could not trade these contracts. He described the approval as "an important milestone" that bridges U.S. TradFi participants with Asian liquidity pools and "legitimizes crypto derivatives as a regulated asset class." The approval suggests regulated crypto derivatives infrastructure outside the U.S. can be connected to American institutional flows, a template other foreign exchanges may follow.
Since launching in late November 2025, the products have recorded $5.8 billion in cumulative traded volume, around 400,000 lots. Average daily volume across both contracts reached roughly 1,300 lots, or about $19 million, as of August. Bitcoin drives most activity, representing 66% of open interest and 83% of daily average volume. The busiest day so far saw 11,500 lots traded, equal to $145 million in notional value.
The perpetual contracts have no expiry date. Unlike many crypto-native exchanges, SGX relies on margin calls and collateral top-ups rather than automatic liquidations, and excludes stablecoins as acceptable collateral because they can lose their peg during volatile periods, per Lam. The contracts are benchmarked to indices jointly developed with CoinDesk Indices, according to Mohit Baheti, head of iEdge Indices at SGX Group, and are managed under the EU Benchmark Regulation.
Onboarding new clients through clearing members for KYC checks, deposits and API connectivity generally takes two to four weeks. Lam said the FIS-enabled back-office integration is fully in place and U.S. clearing members are being prepared to onboard clients over the next month or two. Traders use the products for both macro-directional views on bitcoin and ether and mechanical cash-and-carry strategies that exploit funding-rate and pricing differentials across venues.
SGX plans to launch dated futures and options on bitcoin and ether next. Lam said developing the underlying infrastructure is the major task and that adding other major coins may then become straightforward, though no timeline was given.
KC Lam, head of crypto derivatives at SGX Group, told CoinDesk that U.S. participants previously could not trade these contracts. He described the approval as "an important milestone" that bridges U.S. TradFi participants with Asian liquidity pools and "legitimizes crypto derivatives as a regulated asset class." The approval suggests regulated crypto derivatives infrastructure outside the U.S. can be connected to American institutional flows, a template other foreign exchanges may follow.
Since launching in late November 2025, the products have recorded $5.8 billion in cumulative traded volume, around 400,000 lots. Average daily volume across both contracts reached roughly 1,300 lots, or about $19 million, as of August. Bitcoin drives most activity, representing 66% of open interest and 83% of daily average volume. The busiest day so far saw 11,500 lots traded, equal to $145 million in notional value.
The perpetual contracts have no expiry date. Unlike many crypto-native exchanges, SGX relies on margin calls and collateral top-ups rather than automatic liquidations, and excludes stablecoins as acceptable collateral because they can lose their peg during volatile periods, per Lam. The contracts are benchmarked to indices jointly developed with CoinDesk Indices, according to Mohit Baheti, head of iEdge Indices at SGX Group, and are managed under the EU Benchmark Regulation.
Onboarding new clients through clearing members for KYC checks, deposits and API connectivity generally takes two to four weeks. Lam said the FIS-enabled back-office integration is fully in place and U.S. clearing members are being prepared to onboard clients over the next month or two. Traders use the products for both macro-directional views on bitcoin and ether and mechanical cash-and-carry strategies that exploit funding-rate and pricing differentials across venues.
SGX plans to launch dated futures and options on bitcoin and ether next. Lam said developing the underlying infrastructure is the major task and that adding other major coins may then become straightforward, though no timeline was given.
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