United States approves perpetual Bitcoin futures contracts... Regulations on token issuance are still in the proposal stage

The U.S. financial regulatory authorities are approaching cryptocurrency derivatives and token offerings at different paces, creating an unusual situation where trading infrastructure is outpacing regulations for asset creation. On May 29, the CFTC approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures contract (BTCPERP), and Bitnomial followed suit by launching related products. The CFTC used a framework based on existing regulations 40.3 to review and approve the new futures products, and in Kalshi's case, leverage of up to 6x is permitted. The CFTC also issued a policy statement regarding perpetual contracts, clarifying the application of existing core principles, but each exchange must undergo a separate application process. On June 12, Bitnomial and Coinbase Derivatives were granted temporary no-action relief, but this expired on June 30. Currently, Coinbase's publicly available products are long-term futures with a 5-year maturity, and the official launch of true perpetual futures has not been confirmed. As of August 21, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $77,000, up about 22% over the past week. According to CoinGlass data, the 24-hour Bitcoin futures trading volume was approximately $154.6 billion, with open interest at $56.2 billion. During the same period, the total liquidation volume for Bitcoin futures was approximately $840 million, and the previous day saw Bitcoin briefly exceeding $72,000, resulting in approximately $3.1 billion in liquidations of short positions across the cryptocurrency market. On August 18, the SEC proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets." This regulation includes exemptions for startups with up to $5 million in size, offering limits of $20 million and $75 million, and a safe harbor provision that allows tokens to be separated from investment contracts after the issuer has completed its core business activities. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on August 21, and the comment period ends on October 20. After revisions and a final vote, it can be implemented. In Congress, the Senate Banking Committee passed the CLARITY Act in May, and a cloture motion is scheduled for September 15. Senator Tim Scott, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, stated on August 20 that he remains optimistic about the possibility of a full Senate vote in September. It is also noteworthy that the CFTC is currently conducting a public comment period, until August 26, regarding the introduction of 24-hour trading and perpetual contracts for energy derivatives. The current regulatory landscape shows a disparity: while institutional investors can use Bitcoin perpetual futures domestically, there is still no legal pathway for token issuers to raise capital publicly.