Singapore Exchange to list bitcoin futures, join global shift in expanding crypto derivatives

The move reflects a trend of traditional exchanges entering the cryptocurrency derivatives market to provide a regulated platform for trading digital assets

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The Singapore Exchange plans to list bitcoin perpetual futures to bridge regulated markets with cryptocurrency trading. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:31pm, 10 Mar 2025Updated: 9:06am, 11 Mar 2025

Singapore Exchange (SGX) plans to list bitcoin perpetual futures as traditional exchanges push deeper into cryptocurrency derivative markets.

Singapore’s largest exchange group intends to launch the contracts in the second half of 2025, it said in an emailed statement. The company will strictly target institutional clients and professional investors, with retail customers barred from trading the instruments.

The move was the latest sign that established exchange operators were branching out into bitcoin derivatives, as US President Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency agenda boosts demand for digital assets’ exposure.

Japan’s Osaka Dojima Exchange, which traces its roots to the 18th century, is reportedly planning to seek approval to list bitcoin futures.

SGX hoped to act as a bridge between regulated financial markets and the freewheeling world of cryptocurrency trading. The firm thinks its offering will “significantly expand institutional market access,” it said.

The planned products were still awaiting approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Perpetual futures – which do not have an expiry date – are a way for traders to bet on price changes in an underlying asset without needing to own the asset itself. SGX was not the only exchange looking to launch the contracts in Singapore: in January 2024, Hoboken, New Jersey-based EDX Markets LLC, a digital-asset firm backed by Citadel Securities, revealed plans to offer the instruments in the city state.