DRW CEO Clarifies Perpetual Futures Are Simply Futures Without Expiration Dates

According to BlockBeats, on July 29, DRW CEO Don Wilson clarified that perpetual futures are fundamentally futures contracts without expiration dates, not a separate instrument category. Features often attributed to perpetual futures—such as high leverage, 24/7 trading, and automated liquidations—are product design choices by exchanges rather than inherent properties of the instrument itself.

Wilson criticized the Automatic Deleveraging (ADL) mechanism and urged regulators to classify perpetual futures based on economic substance rather than the absence of an expiration date. He called for wider adoption of perpetual futures across commodities, securities, and crypto assets as price discovery and risk management tools.