Ondo Demands SEC and CFTC Crackdown: Is the Future of US Stock Perpetuals at Risk?

Ever wondered why some financial products seem to linger in regulatory limbo, like they’re waiting for an invitation to the big U.S. party? Ondo Finance is tossing that question right back at U.S. regulators—urging them to bring perpetual futures tied to individual stocks onshore, claiming there’s no need to rewrite the rulebook. They say the existing security futures framework already has enough muscle to handle these perpetual stock futures, especially with today’s tech-savvy margining and onchain market data. It’s kinda like having the perfect outfit already in your closet but insisting you need a new trend to wear it. Plus, they’ve got the receipts: their Panama-based affiliate racked up a staggering $8 billion in stablecoin-settled perpetual futures trading volume in just six weeks. So, is it time for regulators to stop the paperwork shuffle and embrace what’s clearly working offshore? Ondo thinks so—and they’re ready for the U.S. to take center stage. LEARN MORE.

Ondo Finance is urging US regulators to bring perpetual futures tied to individual stocks onshore, arguing that the products can already operate under the country’s existing security futures framework without new rules.

In three Aug. 24 comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Ondo argued that existing rules can accommodate perpetual stock futures while also accounting for modern margining practices and onchain market data.

Ondo said its Panama-based affiliate already offers stablecoin-settled perpetual futures on individual US-listed stocks outside the United States, with the platform recording $8 billion in cumulative trading volume as of Aug. 14, around six weeks after its launch.

Ondo ranks fourth among tokenized RWA managers by distributed value. Source: RWA.xyz

The company argued that scheduled funding payments can keep perpetual contracts aligned with the price of their underlying stocks, performing a similar function to expiration in traditional futures.

“Nothing in the statutory definition of a security futures product requires a fixed expiration date,” Ondo said in its product-classification letter.

Ondo also noted that many of the stocks underlying offshore perpetuals are principally traded on US exchanges. “Bringing that activity back to the U.S. should not be an open question; it’s something both agencies should actively pursue,” the company said.

Ondo is among the largest managers of tokenized real-world assets, ranking fourth with about $2.6 billion in distributed value as of Wednesday, according to RWA.xyz data.

US regulators look to modernize market rules

Ondo’s proposal comes as US regulators reconsider how existing market rules apply to onchain products, including perpetual futures and tokenized securities.

President Donald Trump said in August that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a “fully compliant and legal fashion.” Hyperliquid is best known for its onchain perpetual futures market, though neither the CFTC nor Hyperliquid has publicly detailed how US access would work.

HYPE, the native token of Hyperliquid, jumped more than 20% following Trump’s comments and has gained nearly 49% over the past month to trade around $81 on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko data.

HYPE has gained nearly 49% over the past month. Source: CoinGecko

The SEC, which oversees securities markets, and the CFTC, which regulates US derivatives markets, have also stepped up coordination this year, signing a memorandum of understanding in March to harmonize oversight in areas where their jurisdictions overlap.

On Tuesday, the SEC proposed overhauling its decades-old transfer agent framework, citing growing demand for blockchain-native recordkeeping and tokenized securities in US markets as the agency reexamines rules built for older market infrastructure.

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