SGX's bitcoin and ether perpetual futures are now open to U.S. institutions
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has received CFTC authorization to offer its bitcoin and ether perpetual futures to U.S. institutional investors. This move aims to bridge U.S. financial participants with Asian crypto liquidity pools.
Why it matters
This represents a significant step in the institutionalization and regulatory integration of cryptocurrency derivatives in global markets.
"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," KC Lam, head of crypto derivatives at SGX Group, told CoinDesk.
Regulation 48.10 is the framework under which the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission allows a registered Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT), an overseas exchange recognized by the CFTC, to give U.S. participants direct access to its trading system, without the exchange needing to separately register as a full U.S.-regulated exchange.
In effect, it lets qualifying foreign platforms open their existing order books to U.S. institutional traders under CFTC oversight, rather than requiring a new, standalone U.S. listing.
Lam called the development "an important milestone," adding that it "bridges the U.S. TradFi participants trading crypto futures with Asian liquidity pools" and "legitimizes crypto derivatives as a regulated asset class."
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