CFTC Chair Advances Bitcoin Perpetuals and Stablecoin Collateral Innovation

CFTC Chair Selig confirms approval of first Bitcoin perpetual contract and explores stablecoin collateral, rejecting legacy trading constraints while defending prediction markets against European gambling classifications.

Woofun AI reports that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig emphasized the agency's jurisdiction over nearly half of the global derivatives market, which exceeds $120 trillion in notional value. He stated that the U.S. will not adopt regulatory frameworks based on limited trading hours or single-exchange models, citing the rise of automated and AI-driven execution.

Selig confirmed the approval of the first "true" Bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures instrument and noted ongoing exploration of regulated stablecoins as collateral. He also highlighted the launch of round-the-clock gold futures trading and discussions on non-crypto perpetual futures. Regarding prediction markets, Selig asserted they fall under CFTC jurisdiction for price discovery, dismissing European regulators' classification of such contracts as gambling as a misunderstanding of their economic utility.