March 12, 2025
By Anjali Kochhar
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is set to launch perpetual Bitcoin futures in the second half of 2025, according to a Bloomberg report. The product will be exclusively available to institutional and professional investors, marking SGX’s latest move into the expanding crypto derivatives market.
Singapore Strengthens Its Crypto Derivatives Market
Perpetual futures, which have no expiry date, were first popularised by BitMEX and have since become a staple in the crypto industry. SGX’s move follows a broader trend in Asia, with Japan’s Osaka Dojima Exchange also preparing to introduce similar offerings.
Singapore’s institutional investors already have multiple avenues for trading perpetual futures. At the start of 2024, AsiaNext, a joint venture between Switzerland’s SIX stock exchange and Japan’s SBI Digital Asset Holdings, began offering crypto derivatives. Early participants included market makers like B2C2 and Wintermute, both known for their deep liquidity in digital asset markets.
A few months later, EDXM Global launched a similar platform in Singapore. The company is a subsidiary of the U.S.-based EDX Markets, which was founded by financial giants such as Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Virtu Financial, and Charles Schwab, alongside major venture capital firms.
Both AsiaNext and EDXM currently offer perpetual contracts for Bitcoin and Ethereum. EDXM’s trading pairs are settled in stablecoins like USDT and USDC, while AsiaNext operates in U.S. dollars and also provides calendar futures for more structured investment strategies.
SGX Expands Its Blockchain and Crypto Focus
While SGX has been involved in blockchain initiatives for several years, its focus has largely been on tokenisation rather than direct cryptocurrency trading. In 2021, it co-founded Marketnode alongside Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, establishing a blockchain infrastructure for fund management. HSBC and Euroclear have since invested in the project.
Additionally, SGX was a founding investor in the DBS Digital Exchange, which facilitates tokenized securities and cryptocurrency transactions. Although its primary activities have been centered around digital securities, SGX’s upcoming Bitcoin futures offering signals a stronger commitment to integrating crypto into Singapore’s financial ecosystem.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over four years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
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