Ondo urges US regulators to allow stock perpetuals

Ondo Finance has asked US regulators to bring perpetual futures tied to individual stocks onshore after its offshore platform recorded $8 billion in cumulative trading volume within roughly six weeks. Summary Ondo says existing US security futures rules can cover perpetual contracts tied to individual stocks. Its Panama-based affiliate had processed $8 billion in cumulative volume by Aug. 14. Recurring funding payments keep the contracts close to the prices of their underlying shares. The SEC and CFTC are reviewing rules for onchain derivatives and tokenized securities. Ondo Finance, in three Aug. 24 comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said the agencies could accommodate stock perpetual futures through the existing security futures framework. The company’s proposal covers product classification, margin requirements and the use of onchain market data. Instead of asking Congress or federal agencies to create a separate regulatory category, Ondo wants the SEC and CFTC to apply rules already used for futures tied to individual securities. According to its product-classification letter, the lack of a fixed expiration date d...