Perps Are Coming Onshore | CFTC Chairman Mike Selig

The U.S. is entering a new era of regulated crypto innovation, with CFTC Chairman Mike Selig declaring that the era of offshore crypto derivatives is over. In a landmark move, the CFTC has approved the first onshore Bitcoin perpetual futures contract on the CalShex exchange and granted Coinbase a no-action letter to connect U.S. users to Deribit’s perpetuals—marking the first time such products are available under U.S. regulatory oversight. Selig emphasizes that the goal isn’t to ban offshore markets, but to bring the most high-risk, high-leverage instruments like perps into a safe, transparent, and regulated U.S. framework. He argues that excessive leverage—common offshore at 250x—is being capped at 5–10x in the U.S., with strict rules around customer fund protection, central clearinghouses, and anti-manipulation safeguards. The CFTC is also embracing blockchain’s transparency, using on-chain data to detect fraud and enforce rules more efficiently. Beyond Bitcoin, the agency is opening the door for perpetuals on other digital commodities like Ethereum and Solana, and soon, equity-based derivatives like pre-IPO stocks (e.g., SpaceX, OpenAI), which will require joint oversight with the SEC. Selig warns that the old turf wars between the CFTC and SEC are over—now, both agencies are collaborating to fast-track innovation. The real battleground? Not between startups and incumbents, but between regulatory clarity and the global race to lead in frontier finance. The U.S.