Ondo Finance pushes US regulators to allow onshore stock perpetual futures

Ondo Finance has called on US regulators to allow perpetual futures contracts tied to individual stocks to operate onshore, arguing that existing securities laws already support such products.

The company, a major player in tokenized real-world assets, submitted three comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on August 24. In them, Ondo stated that perpetual stock futures can function under the current security futures framework without requiring new regulations.

A perpetual future is a type of derivative contract with no fixed expiration date. Ondo claims that scheduled funding payments can keep these contracts aligned with the underlying stock prices, serving a similar purpose to expiration dates in traditional futures.

Ondo’s current operations and market position

Ondo’s Panama-based affiliate already offers stablecoin-settled perpetual futures on US-listed stocks outside the United States. The platform reported $8 billion in cumulative trading volume as of August 14, roughly six weeks after its launch.

The company also noted that many stocks underlying offshore perpetuals are primarily traded on US exchanges. Ondo ranks fourth among tokenized real-world asset managers, with about $2.6 billion in distributed value as of September 2, according to data from RWA.xyz.

Regulatory context and next steps

Ondo’s proposal comes as US regulators reconsider how existing market rules apply to onchain products, including perpetual futures and tokenized securities. The SEC and CFTC have increased coordination this year, signing a memorandum of understanding in March to harmonize oversight in overlapping areas.

In its letters, Ondo emphasized that bringing this trading activity back to the US should be a priority for both agencies. The company argued that nothing in the legal definition of a security futures product requires a fixed expiration date.

Why this matters

If adopted, Ondo’s proposal could enable US-based trading of perpetual futures tied to individual stocks, which are currently offered offshore. The move aligns with broader regulatory efforts to modernize market rules for onchain products.

Sources

• Cointelegraph