SINGAPORE, Nov. 17, 2025 — SGX Derivatives will introduce Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures that marry the continuous, no-expiry structure popular in crypto markets with on-exchange clearing, regulated margining and institutional governance. The new contracts begin trading on 24 November 2025 and will be available to accredited, expert and institutional investors in an onshore, exchange‑cleared framework.
Perpetual futures represent more than US$187 billion in average daily volume globally, with Asia among the fastest-growing regions. Much of that activity is currently priced and settled offshore; SGX’s offering seeks to bring that flow onshore to give institutions a regulated venue for trading and scaling exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
SGX says the contracts are benchmarked to the iEdge CoinDesk Crypto Indices to align price discovery with recognised institutional reference rates. Michael Syn, President of SGX Group, described the move as a deliberate step to apply institutional market discipline to one of crypto’s most traded instruments and to support broader institutional participation.
CoinDesk Indices’ Head of Product and Research, Andy Baehr, welcomed the launch, noting that derivatives account for the majority of crypto trading and that perpetuals’ features have made them widely used. He said bringing perpetuals on-exchange with traditional margining and clearing can broaden institutional confidence in the product.
Market participants framed the launch as an important development for regulated liquidity and institutional access in Asia. Leonard Hoh, General Manager of Bitstamp by Robinhood — Asia Pacific, praised a Singapore‑anchored benchmark and evolving infrastructure. Patrick Yeo, Head of Digital Assets, Global Financial Markets at DBS Bank, highlighted the precision and capital efficiency of perpetuals and welcomed the application of traditional clearing and margining standards; DBS is a member of the cryptocurrency index committee supporting SGX’s launch.
Other industry supporters included Joseph Chang (Liquibit Capital), CJ Fong (GSR, APAC), Gracie Lin (OKX Singapore), Melvin Deng (QCP) and Ramesh Arumugam (Virtu Financial, Managing Director Asia Pacific). Their comments emphasised regulated liquidity, stronger risk management, improved price discovery and the potential to scale institutional participation in digital assets.
More information and the official press release are available here: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2819668/20251117_SGX_Derivatives_breaks_new_ground_with_institutional_grade_crypto_perpetual_futures__FINAL.pdf. Details on SGX Crypto Perpetual Futures can be found at http://www.sgx.com/crypto.
Source note: perpetual futures volume figure per CoinDesk Research (Jan–Sep 2025). The iEdge CoinDesk Cryptocurrency Indices provide the real-time benchmarks and reference rates used for these contracts.