For years, the most active market for crypto asset perpetuals — the derivatives contracts that let traders bet on price moves without owning the underlying — has operated almost entirely outside the United States. That's changing now, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Selig.
What Selig said
Selig made the remark this week, offering the clearest acknowledgment yet from a US regulator that the center of gravity for crypto perpetuals is moving onshore. The CFTC oversees derivatives markets in the US, and perpetuals fall into that category. Historically, offshore exchanges like Binance and Bybit dominated the space, but US regulators have increasingly cracked down on those platforms. Selig's statement suggests that dynamic is shifting.
A move onshore could mean more US-based exchanges offering perpetuals under CFTC oversight. That would subject the product to US capital and margin requirements, customer protection rules, and real-time reporting. For traders used to looser offshore regimes, the shift could bring higher costs but also greater legal clarity. For the CFTC, it means a market it barely touched is now within its reach.
Selig didn't specify which platforms or products are driving the change. But the timing lines up with a broader push by US crypto firms to offer derivatives. Last year, several US exchanges applied for or received CFTC approval for futures and options. Perpetuals are the next logical step. The question now is how quickly the offshore incumbents will move to comply — or whether they'll cede ground to new US entrants. Selig's comment indicates the CFTC expects the answer soon.
