Chicago-based crypto exchange Bitnomial has launched futures tied to Tezos’ XTZ token, the first time XTZ has a futures market on a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission–regulated exchange. The contracts are live and allow institutional and retail traders to take exposure to XTZ price movements using either cryptocurrency or US dollars as margin.
Futures let traders hedge risk or gain price exposure by agreeing to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date without holding the asset itself. Regulated futures markets are often viewed as a prerequisite for broader institutional participation in the US — including potential spot exchange-traded funds — because they provide standardized price discovery and oversight under the CFTC.
“CFTC-regulated futures market with six months of trading history checks a key box under the SEC’s generic listing standards for spot ETFs,” Bitnomial president Michael Dunn said. Dunn told Cointelegraph the company is “actively looking at new tokens” for potential US institutional and retail derivatives markets but declined to name specifics.
Bitnomial previously listed US-regulated futures tied to Cardano (ADA), XRP and Aptos (APT), placing it among the few venues offering regulated crypto derivatives beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in the US. Its push to list altcoin futures has encountered regulatory friction: in August 2024 the exchange sought to self-certify XRP futures with the CFTC, and the Securities and Exchange Commission objected, arguing the contracts required registration as a securities exchange. Bitnomial sued the SEC in October 2025 and later dropped the case; it launched XRP futures in March, citing the agency’s evolving approach to crypto policy.
A brief history of Tezos
Tezos’ mainnet launched in June 2018 after a 2017 initial coin offering that raised about $232 million in Bitcoin and Ether. While not the first proof-of-stake blockchain, Tezos was an early layer-1 to combine proof-of-stake with formal onchain governance, letting token holders approve protocol upgrades and enabling the network to evolve without hard forks.
During the 2021–2022 NFT boom, Tezos gained traction as a lower-cost, energy-efficient alternative to Ethereum for minting and trading NFTs. As Ethereum gas fees rose, artists and game publishers — including Ubisoft — moved to Tezos for lower transaction costs and its proof-of-stake design. Tezos also secured prominent sports partnerships with Red Bull Racing and McLaren Racing, and was reported to be preparing a multi-year sponsorship with Manchester United reportedly valued at more than $27 million per year.
Tezos’ native token XTZ reached an all-time high of $9.12 in October 2021 but has since fallen roughly 95% and traded around $0.46. On Jan. 25, Tezos implemented the Tallinn protocol upgrade, shortening base-layer block times to six seconds as part of its 20th onchain upgrade.
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