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 in early December. Executives from exchanges and futures commission merchants discussed the attractiveness of these products and how prepared the industry is to support them at scale.
The panellists agreed that the growth in popularity of these products reflects structural changes rather than a temporary trend, noting that advances in technology have reshaped market access and who can participate. In tandem with technology, new products are driven by client demand for greater flexibility and more targeted risk-management tools.
“The growth we are seeing is very much enabled by technology advancement,” said Dheeraj Daswani, head of futures and clearing product, APAC at Citigroup Global Markets Singapore. He pointed to the rapid expansion of equity options trading in India as an example of how digital platforms have transformed access. “You don’t necessarily need a PhD in options anymore,” he said.
“I also think that there is an element of this generation that is very much about instant gratification and being able to do things in a very simplistic way,” Daswani added. “Event contracts make it very easy for individuals, and we’re seeing companies like Kalshi and Polymarket really surging in popularity in the US. It really is just a matter of time before we start seeing DeFi and traditional finance converging.”
While innovation has accelerated, panellists emphasised that client needs has largely driven product development. “Futures contracts naturally evolve, but it always comes back to client demand,” said Arthur Fan, chief executive officer of Marex Asia Pacific. Clients seek greater optionality, yield enhancement and continuous access to markets, he said – trends enabled by technological breakthroughs.
Institutional crypto
Several speakers highlighted the maturation of crypto markets as a key driver of the growth in non-traditional derivatives.
“Digital assets have moved from being niche to institutional, supported by clearer regulatory frameworks,” said Minah Kim, CME Group’s executive director and head of APAC equity and cryptocurrency products.
CME Group, which launched Bitcoin futures eight years ago, has focused on providing crypto products to meet institutional demand, she said. “This gives a safety net to customers who need regulatory clarity and a regulated venue.”
Kim added that greater demand for more precise risk management has also driven growth in non-traditional financial products. In particular, she pointed to a “risk on” environment marked by persistent volatility, which has fuelled the development of products such as short-dated and weekly options, a trend that began in equity index options and has since spread to other asset classes, including commodities.
For clearing firms, expansion into non-traditional products has largely followed client interest. “We go where our clients want to be,” said Monica Loh, chief commercial officer, APAC at ABN Amro Clearing Bank.
“If I look at the transformation from traditional to non-traditional products, when CME and Cboe launched crypto futures, we were there right from the onset. We were there because our clients wanted to be there to market-make and to seize the trading opportunities available for those products,” she said.
This year, ABN Amro Clearing has introduced margin offsets across crypto products globally, improving margin and capital efficiency for clients and supporting further growth, she said.
“We want to scale up in terms of what we do in the non-traditional space. We have begun onboarding DeFi clients interested in doing traditional finance products as well. At the end of the day, when the client asks for it, we need to be there, as innovation right now is outpacing the traditional way of doing business,” Loh said. “It presents a lot more opportunities for our traditional clients – our prop trading firms and our market makers – who want to be in the game, who want to be part of the liquidity building in these new products, and it gives them that opportunity to do it through us.”
Perpetual futures
Exchange executives on the panel said they closely monitor how liquidity pools develop in newer markets. At SGX Group, this has informed the launch of perpetual futures.
“We watch where liquidity forms and we look at how we can add value,” said Laurent Poirot, head of product strategy and development at SGX Group. In digital assets, spot markets, futures and ETFs have all expanded, he said, but perpetual contracts – a staple of crypto-native markets – were missing from traditional venues.
“Perpetual futures link spot and derivatives more closely,” Poirot said, offering investors leveraged exposure without a fixed maturity and providing a daily signal of carrying costs.
Readiness
Despite strong growth in non-traditional products, speakers cautioned that operational readiness remains uneven as markets move towards continuous trading.
“We need to be honest about whether the industry is ready,” said Citi’s Daswani, pointing to ongoing challenges around core infrastructure. Innovation, he said, needs to be matched by progress on fundamentals.
Fan from Marex highlighted the operational impact of 24/7 markets on intermediaries, including staffing, systems and intraday margining. “There is still a lot of catching up to do,” he said.
