MiamiPerpetual futures account for over 70 percent of global crypto trading.
Galaxy analyst Mike Harvey predicted equity perpetuals will surpass crypto volumes within 3 years, with 24/7 infrastructure already live.
US Securities and Exchange Commission rules tie each derivative to spot exchange-traded fund approval for the same asset.
Sources: CoinDesk
THE INVENTION
Perpetual futures were proposed by economist Robert Shiller in 1993 as a way to trade real estate without expiry dates. Nobody used them. In 2016, BitMEX adapted the concept for Bitcoin — and created the most traded instrument in crypto history.
HOW THEY NEVER EXPIRE
Traditional futures converge to spot price at expiry because the contract settles. Perps have no expiry, so they use a funding rate: every eight hours, longs pay shorts (or vice versa) based on the gap between perp price and spot. This tether replaces the calendar.
WHY THEY DOMINATE CRYPTO
Perp volume on crypto exchanges routinely runs 5-10x spot volume. Traders prefer them because there is no roll cost, no expiry management, and leverage up to 100x. The result is that perps — not spot markets — are where crypto prices are actually discovered.
THE US REGULATORY WALL
The SEC ties each equity derivative to spot ETF approval for the same asset. Bitcoin spot ETFs were approved in January 2024 after a decade of rejections; Ethereum followed in mid-2024. The same gating logic now governs whether equity perpetuals can launch on US-regulated venues.
THE 24/7 PROBLEM
US equity markets close at 4pm ET and stay shut on weekends — roughly 76 hours of every 168 are dark. Crypto trades continuously. When equity perps go live on always-on infrastructure, price discovery for Apple and Tesla shifts to venues that operate when NYSE specialists are asleep, eroding the exchange's monopoly on the closing auction.
THE LIQUIDATION CASCADE
High leverage plus continuous trading means small price moves trigger forced liquidations, which move price further, triggering more liquidations. Crypto sees this routinely — a 5% spot move can wipe out billions in perp positions within minutes. Equities have circuit breakers; 24/7 perp markets do not.