Ondo, Coinbase urge SEC and CFTC to treat equity perpetuals as security futures

  • Ondo and Coinbase urged the SEC and CFTC to classify equity perpetuals as security futures under existing law.
  • Ondo reported more than $8 billion in offshore stock-perpetual volume by August 14, while Coinbase launched AI10 and Defense10 perpetual-style index futures earlier in 2026.
  • The Blockchain Association and Hyperliquid Policy Center supported onshore security-futures treatment, while CME argued perpetuals should be swaps.

Ondo Finance, Oasis Pro Markets and Coinbase proposed in August comment letters that equity perpetuals be treated as security futures under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and Commodity Exchange Act, allowing existing SEC and CFTC registration pathways to govern the products. Ondo’s August 24 filing said cash-settled single-stock perpetuals meet the framework because classification depends on the underlying asset and settlement method, not a fixed maturity; Coinbase’s August 24-25 proposal would let CFTC-registered designated contract markets such as Coinbase Derivatives use notice registration with the SEC, while national securities exchanges could register with the CFTC. The proposals seek to move activity onshore amid unresolved swaps-versus-futures questions: Ondo’s Panama affiliate reported more than $8 billion in stablecoin-settled stock-perpetual volume by August 14, and Coinbase Derivatives launched perpetual-style AI10 and Defense10 equity-index futures earlier in 2026. Both firms said regulatory uncertainty has pushed trading offshore, reduced domestic liquidity and constrained innovation, while the Blockchain Association and Hyperliquid Policy Center backed similar security-futures treatment and CME Group challenged the futures classification in a June lawsuit.

The information on this website is generated using AI and we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Please use it as reference information only.