Singapore Exchange SGX Gets CFTC Clearance To Offer Bitcoin And Ether Perpetuals To US Institutions

Access to Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) cryptocurrency derivatives market is expanding into the US, giving eligible American institutions a new route to trade Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures through an established Asian exchange.

The Singapore exchange has received authorisation from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under Regulation 48.10, allowing qualifying US participants to access its existing electronic trading system without SGX having to establish separate US listings.

KC Lam, head of crypto derivatives at SGX Group, told CoinDesk that the approval removes a previous barrier for American institutional traders.

“Under the Regulation 48.10 ruling, we have obtained CFTC authorization to open our crypto products to U.S. institutional access. Previously, U.S. participants couldn’t trade these contracts but now they can.”

SGX Brings Its Existing Crypto Contracts To US Institutions

The authorisation covers SGX’s Bitcoin perpetual futures, known as BTP, and Ether perpetual futures, or ETP.

Both contracts began trading in late November 2025 and have no expiry date, allowing traders to maintain positions without moving into a new contract when a fixed maturity is reached.

Regulation 48.10 provides a framework for a Foreign Board of Trade, or FBOT, recognised by the CFTC to give qualifying US customers direct access to its electronic trading system.

For SGX, this means eligible American institutions can access its existing contracts and order books through the Singapore market rather than requiring the exchange to create separate products in the US.

Lam described the approval as “an important milestone” that connects US traditional finance participants with Asian liquidity pools and supports the development of crypto derivatives within regulated market infrastructure.

$5.8 Billion In Trading Volume Since Launch

SGX’s Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures have already built a sizeable trading base since their launch.

The two contracts have generated $5.8 billion in cumulative trading volume, equivalent to around 400,000 lots.

Average daily volume reached about 1,300 lots, or $19 million, as of August. Bitcoin accounted for 83% of average daily volume since launch, while also making up 66% of outstanding open interest.

The busiest trading session recorded 11,500 lots, representing $145 million in notional value.

The newly approved US access is not expected to translate into immediate trading volumes, as institutions still need to complete SGX’s onboarding process.

New clients are brought in through clearing members and must complete know-your-customer checks, fund their accounts and establish API connections. Lam said the process generally takes two to four weeks regardless of the client's location.

Lam said,

“With our FIS-enabled back-office integration now fully in place, we are actively preparing our U.S. clearing members to onboard clients over the next month or two.”

Why Are Traders Using SGX’s Perpetual Futures?

SGX’s contracts are being used for a mix of directional trading and arbitrage strategies.

Some traders use them to take views on Bitcoin and Ether based on broader economic themes, including concerns about currency debasement.

Others use cash-and-carry strategies, seeking to profit from differences in prices and funding rates across trading venues.

The products resemble crypto-native perpetual futures because they have no expiry, but their risk management system follows a more traditional futures-market model.

Instead of automatically closing positions when volatility creates a margin shortfall, SGX relies on margin calls and additional collateral.

Lam said,

“Unlike crypto-native venues where sudden volatility can trigger auto-liquidations, our traditional risk framework uses margin calls and top-up collateral, to prevent involuntary position closures during market spikes.”

Automatic liquidation is common on crypto exchanges when leveraged traders no longer have enough collateral to support their positions. During sharp market moves, large numbers of forced closures can add further buying or selling pressure.

SGX also separates its trading and clearing functions, with clearing members acting as an additional layer between the exchange and clients.

Lam said,

“By routing trades through clearing members who act as an intermediate risk buffer, we mirror the proven infrastructure of traditional futures and commodities markets.”

SGX Keeps Stablecoins Out Of Its Collateral System

Despite offering crypto derivatives, SGX does not accept stablecoins as collateral for its Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures.

Lam said stablecoins were excluded “as they can break peg during volatile periods.”

The contracts instead rely on benchmarks developed jointly with CoinDesk Indices.

Mohit Baheti, head of iEdge Indices at SGX Group, said the indices are managed under the European Union Benchmark Regulation.

The approach gives SGX’s crypto products a structure closer to traditional regulated derivatives markets while still providing exposure to assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.

US Market Is Expanding Its Regulated Perpetual Futures Options

SGX’s entry into the US institutional market comes as regulated crypto perpetual futures become more available to American traders.

The CFTC approved the first regulated Bitcoin perpetual futures contract for listing on a US exchange in May, creating a domestic route for a product that had previously been more closely associated with offshore crypto platforms.

Kraken later launched perpetual futures through its CFTC-regulated derivatives business, Bitnomial, giving eligible customers access to perpetual contracts alongside spot, margin and traditional futures products.

Coinbase Financial Markets also received a regulatory route in May to provide eligible US institutions with access to global crypto derivatives, initially through contracts listed on Deribit.

SGX is taking a different approach by allowing American institutions to trade contracts that are already established on its Singapore market.

SGX Plans Bitcoin And Ether Futures And Options Next

The exchange is now preparing to expand beyond perpetual contracts.

Its next planned products are dated Bitcoin and Ether futures and options, which would give institutional traders additional ways to manage exposure and risk in the two largest cryptocurrencies.

Lam said,

“The next step in our pipeline is launching dated futures and options for Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

He added that developing the infrastructure needed for these products would be the main technical task. Once that system is in place, SGX expects adding other major cryptocurrencies to be more similar to introducing another futures contract.

Lam said,

“We plan to broaden our offerings but we are taking a disciplined, step-by-step approach.”