Former SEC and CFTC Officials Advocate Lighter Regulation to Bring Crypto Perpetuals Trading Onshore
A bipartisan group of former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officials has urged regulators to adopt a lighter regulatory approach for crypto perpetual futures trading, warning that overly burdensome rules could continue driving the market overseas. The signatories argue overlapping regulations should not impose unnecessary compliance costs and similar risks should face consistent treatment. The letter highlights concerns around jurisdictional boundaries between SEC and CFTC in regulating derivatives like swaps and security-based swaps. It also emphasizes investor protection while maintaining U.S. competitiveness, especially as offshore perpetual futures trading has grown significantly—reaching $90 trillion in 2025 according to prediction market platform Kalshi. The call for clarity comes amid broader regulatory efforts by the SEC on custody rules for digital assets and CFTC initiatives aimed at bringing popular platforms like Hyperliquid into U.S. markets.
Topics: CFTC cryptocurrency derivatives perpetual futures SEC