On May 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a seemingly unremarkable regulatory guideline.

Written by: Non-Small Number

Why did a regulatory document stir the entire crypto community?

On May 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a seemingly unremarkable regulatory guideline. For most traditional financial practitioners, this might just be one of many documents regularly issued by regulatory agencies, but for the crypto industry, the significance of this document is arguably on par with the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the past.

The reason lies in the fact that the CFTC has clearly recognized for the first time that crypto assets have the characteristic of operating around the clock, and it has provided regulatory framework support for 24/7 derivatives trading. More importantly, this document effectively opens a door that has never really been opened before for the domestic perpetual contract market in the United States.

For many ordinary investors, perpetual contracts seem to be just a trading tool on exchanges. However, for the entire crypto industry, perpetual contracts are the true core engine that supports market liquidity. Over the past ten years, although the United States has the most mature capital market globally, it has always been absent from the largest crypto derivatives market in the world. A large amount of trading activity has been concentrated on offshore platforms, and U.S. investors could only participate through various indirect means.

Now, this situation is starting to change.

If the Bitcoin ETF allowed Wall Street to officially embrace crypto assets for the first time, then this regulatory breakthrough for perpetual contracts signifies that the U.S. is attempting to bring the entire crypto financial system into its regulatory landscape. For a country that has long aspired to be the "Global Crypto Capital," this is undoubtedly another important milestone.

Perpetual contracts are the true center of power in the crypto world

In the perception of many outsiders, Bitcoin spot trading seems to represent the entire crypto market. But in reality, what truly determines market sentiment, price fluctuations, and liquidity scale has never been spot trading but rather the derivatives market.

According to industry statistics, by 2025, the global crypto derivatives trading volume is expected to reach between $60 trillion to $85 trillion, accounting for over 75% of the total trading volume in the entire crypto market. Among these, perpetual contracts hold an absolute dominant position.

The reason why perpetual contracts can become the core of the market is not complex. For institutions, they can achieve risk hedging and position management with lower capital costs; for traders, they provide leverage, long and short trading options, and higher capital efficiency. In both bull and bear markets, perpetual contracts can continuously generate trading demand.

In the past few years, the crypto market has frequently experienced a unique phenomenon: even if spot trading volumes remain relatively stable, large-scale liquidations in the perpetual market can still trigger significant volatility across the entire market. This indicates that true pricing power has gradually shifted from spot trading to derivatives.

However, it is ironic that as the largest financial market in the world, American investors have long been unable to directly participate in this core market. A large amount of capital has had to flow to overseas platforms, causing regulatory agencies to lose direct influence over this segment of the market.

Now, with the regulatory framework gradually clarifying, the United States has finally decided not to exclude itself from this global financial transformation.

Coinbase, Kalshi, and CME: Who will be the biggest winner?

With the regulatory door just opening, market participants quickly sprang into action.

Undoubtedly, the most notable is Coinbase. For a long time, Coinbase has been one of the largest crypto trading platforms in the U.S., but compared to overseas exchanges, its business structure has always had clear shortcomings. While spot trading, custody services, and institutional business have been established, the most profitable derivatives market has remained elusive.

This regulatory change is equivalent to helping Coinbase complete the last piece of the puzzle. In the future, U.S. users will not only be able to participate in perpetual contract trading through Coinbase but will also be able to use stablecoins and some crypto assets as collateral. This means Coinbase finally has the capability to compete head-on with international trading platforms.

Meanwhile, Kalshi has also become one of the biggest beneficiaries. As a well-known prediction market platform in the U.S., Kalshi has been approved to launch the Bitcoin perpetual product BTCPERP. Many industry insiders believe this marks Kalshi's transition from a prediction market platform to a true derivatives exchange. If more than ten crypto perpetual products are subsequently launched, its business model and market positioning will undergo fundamental changes.

And the representative of traditional finance - the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) - has also reaped significant dividends. In the past, the crypto market had long experienced a phenomenon known as the "CME gap." Due to the continuous trading hours of the crypto market over the weekends and fixed closing times in the CME futures market, price gaps often occur on Mondays. Now, with the CME launching a 24/7 trading mechanism, this phenomenon may gradually become history.

In a sense, this is not only the crypto industry adapting to Wall Street but also Wall Street beginning to actively adapt to the crypto industry.

Why has the U.S. suddenly changed its attitude?

If we extend the timeline, we will find that this regulatory breakthrough is not an isolated event but part of a broader strategic adjustment in the U.S.

In the past few years, U.S. regulatory agencies have had a contradictory attitude towards the crypto industry. On one hand, they want to maintain the U.S. dollar system and financial order; on the other hand, they fear that excessive regulation will drive innovation and capital overseas. As a result, the market has long remained in a state that is neither fully open nor completely prohibited.

However, with changing global competitive dynamics, the U.S. has begun to realize a harsh reality: the crypto industry will not disappear due to regulatory pressure; it will simply flow to regions with more favorable regulations.

Whether it is Europe's introduction of the MiCA framework, Hong Kong's active promotion of virtual asset center construction, or even Singapore and the UAE continually attracting crypto companies to set up operations, all of this has made the U.S. feel the pressure of competition.

More importantly, the U.S. has gradually come to recognize that crypto assets are not merely an investment category but could become an important infrastructure of the future digital financial system. From stablecoins to tokenized assets, from on-chain payments to the issuance of digital bonds, crypto technology is penetrating more and more financial scenarios.

In this context, the U.S. has begun to change its strategy. Instead of pushing these markets overseas, it is better to bring them into a regulatory framework and promote development within a controllable range.

Therefore, from the approval of Bitcoin ETFs to the promotion of stablecoin legislation, and now to the regulatory breakthrough for perpetual contracts, the U.S. is essentially constructing a complete crypto financial ecosystem.

Has Pandora's box been opened?

Of course, not everyone welcomes this change.

Following the release of the regulatory document, the U.S. consumer protection organization Better Markets quickly criticized it, arguing that perpetual contracts are themselves high-risk financial products, making it difficult for ordinary investors to truly understand the leverage mechanisms, funding rates, and forced liquidation rules involved.

They worry that as the U.S. market fully opens to perpetual trading, there may be more cases of retail investors suffering losses due to high-leverage trading in the future.

This concern is not unfounded. Looking back at the development of the crypto industry over the past decade, almost every significant innovation has been accompanied by risks and controversies. Whether it was the ICO craze, the DeFi explosion, or the NFT frenzy, all have attracted vast amounts of capital while also leading to countless investor losses.

Perpetual contracts are no exception.

They are both one of the most effective risk management tools and among those financial products that most easily amplify human greed and fear.

Therefore, while U.S. regulatory agencies are releasing positive signals this time, they have simultaneously emphasized risk management requirements. All institutions hoping to engage in 24/7 trading must submit detailed operational plans, risk control mechanisms, and emergency plans to regulatory authorities. This indicates that the regulators are not completely laissez-faire towards market development but are seeking to balance openness and control.

The U.S. is one step closer to becoming the "Crypto Capital"

On the surface, this is simply an adjustment of derivatives market rules. However, when viewed from a higher dimension, it becomes evident that the U.S. is engaging in a deeper strategic layout.

In the past, the U.S. controlled the global stock market, bond market, and the dollar settlement system. In the future digital finance era, it similarly hopes to master the discourse rights over crypto assets, stablecoins, and on-chain financial infrastructure.

The perpetual contract market is just one puzzle piece.

As more and more crypto operations are brought under regulatory frameworks, the U.S. is gradually building its own crypto financial ecosystem. From spot ETFs to stablecoins, from institutional custody to derivatives trading, a complete system covering issuance, trading, settlement, and clearing is taking shape.

For the industry, this may be more noteworthy than short-term price increases.

Because what truly determines the future of an industry is never a day’s market performance but the direction of systems and capital.

And this time, the U.S. seems to have provided its answer.