Non-traditional derivatives, such as perpetual futures and event-based contracts, are moving rapidly into the mainstream, driven by advances in technology, demand for round-the-clock trading and the continued institutionalisation of crypto assets. These themes were in focus during a panel discussion at FIA Asia. Executives from exchanges and futures commission merchants discussed the attractiveness of these products and how prepared the industry is to support them at scale.
At FIA's Asia 2025 conference in Singapore, exchange leaders outlined a regional pivot towards after-hours trading, while also examining whether the rapid growth in retail activity can be maintained.
24/7 futures trading is gaining momentum – but its reach will likely be shaped asset class by asset class, with crypto leading the way and traditional markets moving much more cautiously.
Crypto industry players who spoke on two panel discussions at FIA Expo agreed that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are on their way towards being fully investible by institutional investors, but offered different opinions about when that will happen.
Panellists at FIA Expo say technology is proven, but clearinghouses need firm regulatory guidance to treat tokenised assets as equivalent to underlying securities.
At FIA’s forum in Paris last month, market participants discussed the innovations, initiatives and challenges shaping efforts to make the trading and clearing of derivatives more resilient and efficient.
The need for regulatory simplification and a growing trend of product and technology innovation were among the topics discussed during a panel on challenges and opportunities in the European derivatives markets at the FIA Paris Forum on 25 September.
A perpetual, or perp in industry speak, has no stated expiry date, allowing a party to hold a position until offsetting it to terminate the exposure. They are cash settled trades that provide leveraged exposure to the spot price of an asset, as opposed to providing exposure to a price in the future.
The Joint Trades recommend essential revisions of the Basel banking prudential treatment of cryptoassets and pausing implementation of SCO60 ahead of its January 2026 effective date to allow for a targeted consultation and redesign. The letter highlights the excessively conservative and overly punitive capital treatment of cryptoassets that is misaligned with actual risks, in addition to various inconsistencies with current market risk management practices.
