Singapore Exchange Leaps Into Crypto Perpetual Futures Amid Trump’s Push

Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) has quietly filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch its own crypto perpetual futures for American institutional investors. If the CFTC raises no objection within ten days, SGX could become the first big, brick‑and‑mortar exchange to bring these popular crypto contracts to Wall Street.

Perpetual futures – or “perps” – have become a staple of crypto trading. Unlike conventional futures, they have no set expiration, letting traders keep leveraged positions open indefinitely. In the crypto world they’re a massive source of daily turnover, and regulators are finally warming up to the idea of hosting them in a more traditional, rule‑based environment.

SGX’s version of the product looks a little different from what you see on decentralized platforms. The contracts will trade 22.5 hours a day, Monday through Friday, and participants must post a 35 % margin using fiat collateral. Notably, SGX will not employ the automatic deleveraging mechanisms that many pure‑crypto venues rely on.

“We’re targeting institutions, accredited investors and professional traders – folks who don’t usually trade over the weekend,” said KC Lam, SGX’s head of crypto derivatives, in a recent interview. “Those are the customers we want to serve, and the trading hours we’ve set fit their workflow.”

So far, the bulk of liquidity for crypto perps lives on crypto‑native exchanges. Platforms such as Hyperliquid churn out roughly $80‑$100 billion of Bitcoin and Ether perpetual volume each month, whereas SGX has logged about $6 billion since it introduced its contracts last November. Opening the door to U.S. hedge funds, asset managers and prop‑trading firms could narrow that gap – “liquidity begets liquidity,” Lam noted.

The timing feels intentional. Earlier this year, the CFTC approved the first true Bitcoin perpetual contract on Kalshi, a regulated exchange and prediction‑market operator, signalling a shift toward domestic oversight of these products. President Donald Trump also referenced the need to bring platforms like Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a fully compliant manner, though no concrete timetable was offered.

Against that backdrop, SGX sees an opportunity to complement existing venues. By offering crypto perps alongside equities, rates, currencies and commodities, the Asian exchange could give U.S. investors a broader toolbox and after‑hours access that domestic platforms lack.

Competition is heating up. Coinbase, the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, recently filed with the SEC to roll out equity‑based perps and has already positioned its futures commission merchant to serve institutional clients. Meanwhile, Kalshi and other newcomers are eager to capture a slice of the $100 billion‑plus monthly derivatives market.

In August, SGX recorded 29,655 Bitcoin perps and 6,758 Ether perps traded, bringing the total for the first eight months of 2026 to 353,825 contracts. Whether those numbers will swell once U.S. firms can join the party remains to be seen, but the exchange is betting that the institutional appetite for crypto derivatives is finally being unlocked.