DRW’s Wilson Challenges Regulators’ View of Crypto Perpetuals

Perpetual futures, or perps, resemble conventional futures but have no expiry, using periodic funding payments to keep prices close to their underlying assets. They have become a backbone of global crypto derivatives, with Bank of America estimating annual trading volume at about $90 trillion. DRW Chief Executive Don Wilson argues the instrument should not be conflated with practices common on offshore exchanges, particularly as round-the-clock contracts could offer hedging and price discovery across traditional markets.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission cleared Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual and opened a route for Coinbase on May 29, 2026. Kalshi’s product surpassed $1 billion in volume within a week of its June launch. In comments published July 28, Wilson said high leverage and auto-deleveraging are exchange design choices, not inherent features of perps. Kalshi has since sought approval for gold and silver contracts, while CME Group sued the CFTC on June 18 over whether the products should be classified as futures or swaps.