Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reportedly secured authorization from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to offer its Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures to U.S. institutional investors. The approval, reported on September 14, 2026, covers the exchange's Bitcoin perpetual (BTP) and Ether perpetual (ETP) contracts, which launched in November 2025.
The CFTC clearance operates under the foreign board of trade framework. That framework permits identified U.S.-located members to access qualifying foreign exchanges that are subject to comprehensive home-regulator supervision. SGX has described the products as authorized under that regime, though the specific legal instrument and product-specific conditions were not independently confirmed in the reporting.
Access is institutional only and does not extend to U.S. retail traders. Even for eligible institutions, live trading is not immediate. Clearing-member onboarding is expected to take one to two months, followed by individual account setup of two to four weeks, according to Blockhead.
KC Lam, SGX Group's head of crypto derivatives, called the authorization a milestone connecting U.S. institutions with Asian liquidity. He noted that SGX applies a conventional margin-call risk framework and excludes stablecoins as acceptable collateral due to depegging risk.
SGX's crypto perpetuals remain modest by global standards. Cumulative trading volume has reached $5.8 billion across roughly 400,000 lots, with average daily volume as of August around 1,300 lots, or $19 million. Bitcoin accounts for about 83% of that activity. In the background market snapshot, Bitcoin traded at $77,547, up 0.42% over 24 hours, while Ether changed hands at $2,511.45, down 0.42%.
Perpetual futures differ from dated futures because they have no fixed expiry. The contracts are cash-settled, giving institutions exposure to Bitcoin's price movement rather than ownership of the underlying asset. Blockhead also reports that dated Bitcoin and Ether futures and options are next in SGX's pipeline.
