Ondo Urges SEC and CFTC to Regulate Stock-Linked Perpetual Contracts

ChainCatcher report: Ondo Finance is urging U.S. regulators to bring the perpetual contracts anchored to individual stocks under regulatory oversight, arguing that these products can comply with existing securities futures frameworks without requiring new rules. In three comment letters dated August 24 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Ondo stated that current regulations can accommodate stock perpetual futures while accommodating modern margin practices and on-chain market data. Ondo noted that its Panama-based affiliate has already offered stablecoin-settled perpetual contracts anchored to U.S. individual stocks overseas; since their launch in June, cumulative trading volume reached $8 billion as of August 14. Ondo argues that periodic funding payments enable perpetual contracts to stay aligned with underlying stock prices, functioning similarly to traditional futures through expiration settlement. The company emphasized that the statutory definition of securities futures contains no requirement for a fixed expiration date. Ondo also pointed out that many offshore perpetual contracts are based on stocks primarily traded on U.S. exchanges, and bringing such activities back to the U.S. should be a priority for both agencies. According to RWA.xyz data, Ondo is one of the largest managers in the tokenized real-world assets (RWA) space, with an allocated value of approximately $2.6 billion as of Wednesday, ranking fourth. Ondo’s proposal comes as U.S. regulators reassess existing market rules for on-chain products, including perpetual contracts and tokenized securities. In March of this year, the SEC and CFTC signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate regulation in areas of overlapping jurisdiction.