Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said on Wednesday at Bernstein's 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference that ICE and crypto platform Hyperliquid are in discussions to learn from each other's operations, with ICE asking regulators whether U.S. exchanges can offer perpetual futures products similar to those on crypto platforms. Sprecher stated ICE is not "freaked out" by Hyperliquid but rather studying its 24/7 trading model and seeking regulatory clarity on offering comparable products. The discussions come as traditional exchanges face competition from crypto venues where traders bet on price movements around the clock using perpetual futures contracts without expiry dates, while ICE seeks a "level playing field" under clear regulatory rules.
CFTC Approves Bitcoin Perpetual Futures on Kalshi
On Friday, the CFTC issued an order allowing Kalshi to offer Bitcoin perpetual futures, according to Sprecher's comments. Coinbase announced on Friday that it can now connect U.S. institutional clients to global crypto options and perpetual futures liquidity through its CFTC-regulated futures business. The CFTC stated that products outside Bitcoin perps still need to undergo a "case-by-case" review process.
Sprecher told the conference that ICE has asked regulators why traditional venues are restricted from offering similar products. "But what we are saying to the regulators is: Can we do that?" Sprecher said. "Like, why are you prohibiting us from doing this when it's already happening? And can't we have a level playing field?"
SpaceX Perpetual Futures Average $18 Million Daily Volume
Sprecher pointed to SpaceX as a near-term test of whether prices formed on crypto trading venues can matter before a company lists publicly. Traders are already using perpetual futures to bet on SpaceX's expected listing price months before a potential IPO, with those contracts averaging nearly $18 million in daily volume over two weeks, according to Bloomberg.
Market participants and regulators would be watching whether a derivative price linked to SpaceX formed before the IPO proves irrelevant or becomes a reference point for the listing, Sprecher said. Interest in SpaceX has also grown alongside reports that Musk has discussed folding the rocket firm together with Tesla, a move that could place more than $2.2 billion worth of Bitcoin under one corporate roof.
Experts View Regulatory Shift Toward On-Chain Derivatives
Ultan Miller, CEO of private markets infrastructure firm Hecto Finance, told Decrypt that price discovery for companies such as SpaceX is "increasingly happening on crypto rails" before a bank syndicate files their IPO paperwork. "Perpetuals are not the only tool in that shift, but they are an important signal of where marginal views on value are being expressed and hedged in real time," Miller said. Regulators should focus on giving that activity a "clear, technology neutral home onshore" so it can improve transparency in "notoriously opaque private markets," he added.
Fernando Lillo, marketing director at crypto trading platform Zoomex, told Decrypt that ICE's talks with Hyperliquid show Wall Street is taking on-chain derivatives more seriously. Access to companies such as SpaceX before they go public has long been "a venture capitalists' and institutional elites' game," Lillo said. Traditional firms once treated crypto derivatives platforms as "unregulated shadow markets," he said—but now, Hyperliquid points to an "on-chain architecture validation" and "retail-driven pre-IPO markets."
Sprecher is making a "pragmatic" case to regulators, Lillo said: "If the demand exists and the technology works, let us host it safely in a regulated environment before we lose the market entirely to offshore entities."
FAQ
What did the CFTC approve on Friday regarding Bitcoin perpetual futures?
On Friday, the CFTC issued an order allowing Kalshi to offer Bitcoin perpetual futures. The CFTC stated that products outside Bitcoin perps still need to undergo a "case-by-case" review process.
How much daily volume are SpaceX perpetual futures contracts generating?
SpaceX perpetual futures contracts are averaging nearly $18 million in daily volume over two weeks, according to Bloomberg. Traders are using these contracts to bet on SpaceX's expected listing price months before a potential IPO.
What did ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher say about Hyperliquid on Wednesday?
Sprecher said on Wednesday at Bernstein's 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference that ICE is not "freaked out" by Hyperliquid but is talking to the crypto platform and learning about its operations. He stated: "We're actually talking to these people and learning about it. They're learning what we're doing. We're helping them understand our world. They're helping us understand their world."
