- SGX launches Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures to serve institutional crypto demand.
- New SGX contracts follow iEdge CoinDesk indices and seek to shift perpetual trading to Singapore.
- Banks say regulated perpetual futures on SGX improve access and risk control for digital assets.
Singapore Exchange (SGX) will introduce Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures on Nov 24 as it deepens its reach into digital asset markets. The exchange wants to meet rising demand from funds and professional traders by offering contracts with continuous pricing, central clearing, and margin standards that resemble established futures markets, while shifting some crypto risk away from offshore platforms and into a listed Singapore venue.
This launch comes as professional investors seek clearer, safer structures for cryptocurrency exposure. SGX will provide instruments with continuous pricing, regulated central clearing, and margining standards that match established futures markets. The move is a direct challenge to the offshore venues that currently dominate perpetual futures trading.
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Singapore Aims to Capture $187B Offshore Market
According to the press release , the contracts will operate without expiry dates and will use a funding rate model to keep futures prices aligned with their underlying indices. This structure is designed to reduce basis risk, a common complication in long-dated futures hedging. The products will track the iEdge CoinDesk Crypto Indices for real-time pricing.
Daily global perpetual futures volumes currently exceed $187 billion, with Asia remaining a major driver of that activity. However, the vast majority of this volume still settles on offshore, less-regulated platforms.
The Singapore Exchange intends to pull a significant portion of that volume into its regulated, onshore environment. The exchange believes this step is critical for allowing institutions to manage digital assets with robust market safeguards.
DBS Bank noted that perpetual futures give professional traders greater precision when balancing crypto risk. The bank stated the structure offers far more capital efficiency than direct spot trading, suggesting larger firms may soon treat crypto derivatives as a core tool for portfolio management.
Institutions see new benchmark for crypto risk in Asia
Industry participants say the launch will give Asia a clearer regional benchmark for institutional crypto risk. OKX Singapore chief executive Gracie Lin said the contracts are a natural step in the city’s market development and that an exchange-based reference for Bitcoin and Ethereum derivatives should add transparency and confidence for larger participants that already route orders into SGX for other products.
SGX says early feedback from trading firms, asset managers, and banks shows strong interest in a regulated perpetual futures market in Singapore. Those firms see the contracts as a strategic bridge between digital assets and traditional portfolios because they can be traded, margined, and reported through the same channels as other listed derivatives. The exchange expects more institutions to treat Bitcoin and Ethereum futures as part of long-term allocation and hedging programs rather than purely tactical short-term trades.
