U.S. CFTC Chair Supports Stablecoin Collateral and Perpetual Futures Innovation

ME News reports that on August 6 (UTC+8), Michael Selig, Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), wrote in an article that the notional value of the global derivatives market has exceeded $120 trillion, nearly half of which falls under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. As automated trading, artificial intelligence, algorithmic execution, and real-time decision-making become widespread, the United States will not adopt a regulatory model based on limited trading hours, single exchanges, and traditional screen-based markets. Selig stated that the CFTC has approved the first “true” Bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures contract and is currently exploring the use of regulated stablecoins as collateral. Beyond crypto assets, the U.S. this year also launched its first major exchange offering round-the-clock gold futures trading, and the CFTC is engaging with market participants on the potential development of perpetual futures for non-crypto assets. He also noted that prediction markets fall exclusively under the CFTC’s jurisdiction and possess value in information aggregation, forecasting, and price discovery. In response to nine European financial regulators classifying event contracts in prediction markets as gambling, Selig argued that this view misunderstands the structure of such contracts and overlooks their role in economic indicators and election forecasting. Selig emphasized that cross-border regulatory cooperation remains valuable, but international agreements and regulatory frameworks must continuously evolve alongside market structures and technological advancements. The United States will continue to set global standards by fostering innovation and safeguarding market integrity, rather than waiting for broad international consensus. (Source: BlockBeats)