New Capital Flows into SGX’s Bitcoin and Ether Futures, President Affirms

• The Singapore Exchange (SGX) started offering Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures on November 24, 2025. These contracts let people bet on prices without having to worry about when they will end.
  On the first day, almost 2,000 lots were traded, which was worth about $32 million. So far, the total volume has reached $250 million.
• Traders buy spot crypto or ETFs and sell futures to take advantage of price differences. Up to 90% of Bitcoin ETF interest is based on these kinds of strategies.

Singapore’s main stock exchange, SGX, has gotten into the world of cryptocurrencies by offering perpetual futures for Bitcoin and Ethereum. These tools let investors place bets on price changes that don’t have a set end date. Michael Syn, the president, said that this move is bringing in new money and not taking away from other places where people trade stocks every day.

Syn recently said that these futures make their own market space. “It makes new markets without killing OTC,” he said, which means that over-the-counter deals stay strong. The goal is to create a “Asian-time-zone mother contract” that sets prices during the busiest times in Asia.

“Cash-and-carry” deals are becoming popular with big investors. This means buying the real cryptocurrency or funds that hold it and then selling futures to make sure you get the difference. Syn said, “Now, institutional investors are interested in basis trading, which means buying spot/ETFs and then hedging with futures.” Basis traders, not outright longs, are responsible for up to 90% of Bitcoin ETF interest. You can make money on a regular basis without having to bet a lot on prices going up.

The most important thing here is safety. SGX is different from some unregulated places where things sell quickly; it stays safe. “High-leverage auto-liquidations don’t happen here; they do happen in the OTC market when there isn’t enough clearing. “We margin conservatively, and brokers add to it for clients,” Syn said. Like in regular money markets, this setup keeps positions balanced.

The contracts use iEdge CoinDesk Crypto Indices as benchmarks to make sure the prices are fair. Andy Baehr from CoinDesk Indices said, “More than two-thirds of all crypto trading is in derivatives, and perpetual futures offer unique features and benefits that have made them a favorite. We are excited to see SGX Derivatives bring perpetual futures onshore with traditional margining and clearing.”

Hedge funds and crypto experts have been steadily buying more futures since they started. Marex joined as an early liquidity provider, which made things go more smoothly. Syn thinks this is a good start and wants to add more options like this later, but only when Bitcoin and Ether are more stable.
This is in line with Singapore’s push for crypto rules. Digital assets are well-known in the city-state, so they are widely used. SGX’s move could get more big players interested in regulated crypto.

Note: This news was written by our editor, rewritten with the help of AI, and reviewed by our editor to ensure its accuracy and compliance with our standards.