Crypto Perpetual Futures: The Wild West of Trading is About to Get Regulated! 🤠💰

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Well, hold onto your hats, folks! It seems that crypto perpetual futures contracts might just be getting a regulatory thumbs-up in the good ol’ US of A “very soon,” according to the outgoing Commodities and Futures Trading Commission Commissioner, Summer Mersinger. Yes, you heard that right! 🎉

In a recent chat with Bloomberg TV on May 22, Mersinger declared that these perpetual crypto futures “can come to market now.” I mean, why not? It’s not like we have enough excitement in the financial world already! 😅

“We’re seeing some applications, and I believe we’ll see some of those products trading live very soon,” she said, adding it would be “great to get that trading back onshore in the United States.” Because who doesn’t want to bring a little chaos back home? 🏡

Mersinger, who will be waving goodbye to the CFTC at the end of May, believes that having crypto derivatives trading and regulated in the US would be a “really good thing for these markets and would be really beneficial to the industry broadly.” I mean, what could possibly go wrong? 🤔

Now, for those not in the know, crypto perpetual futures are these fancy derivative contracts that let traders speculate on the price of cryptocurrencies without actually owning them. It’s like betting on a horse race without ever having to feed the horse! 🐴💸 Unlike traditional futures contracts that have expiration dates, these perpetual futures can be held indefinitely. They can also be traded with high leverage, which is just a fancy way of saying you can gamble with more money than you actually have. What a time to be alive!

Crypto Trading

Currently, crypto perpetuals are not allowed in the US and are being traded on large offshore centralized exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit. Binance, the heavyweight champion of crypto exchanges, boasts an astonishing $95 billion in perpetual trading volume per day. That’s a lot of zeros! 💰

According to CoinGecko, Binance offers over 500 crypto perpetual pairs with up to 125x leverage. Yes, you read that right—125 times! It’s like playing poker with a stack of chips that’s taller than you are! 🃏

Mersinger also mentioned that the recent procedural vote to move forward with the GENIUS stablecoin bill signifies “this asset class is clearly here to stay.” Well, if that doesn’t sound like a rallying cry for crypto enthusiasts everywhere! 🚀

“We really are going to make the United States the forefront of economic power that we can see from these tokens and this asset class.” Because nothing says economic power like a bunch of digital coins floating around in cyberspace! 💻

Mersinger Leaving the CFTC

As May comes to a close, Mersinger will be leaving the CFTC to join the Blockchain Association, a trade group with over 100 members that represents the crypto industry and economy. Talk about a career change! 🎢

On May 14, the Blockchain Association announced that its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would step down, and Mersinger would take the reins on June 2. “We have a very strong incoming [CFTC] chairman who has a great voice for the crypto industry and will be a real advocate for the industry and the agency at large,” she said, adding that she hopes to contribute more to the crypto industry through her new position. Because who wouldn’t want to dive deeper into the wild world of crypto? 🏊‍♂️

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2025-05-23 06:14