Nadex, a subsidiary of Crypto.com, completes SEC registration to launch single-stock futures
Nadex, a regulated derivatives exchange under Crypto.com, has completed its registration with the SEC and can trade securities futures products through OG.com. The registration took effect on September 14, and the commission confirmed receipt on the 16th.
CEO Kris Marszalek stated that this move supports the launch of single-stock futures in the U.S. and that they are working with the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to apply for the launch of single-stock perpetual futures, combining digital asset market mechanisms with the U.S. capital market to offer equity contracts without a fixed expiration date. Perpetual products have not yet been approved, and the registration for securities futures has been established first.
Nadex operates under OG.com and is already a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, tracing its origins back to HedgeStreet in 2004. The registration path is based on Section 6(g) of the Exchange Act, which allows designated contract markets to register only securities futures as national securities exchanges. Earlier this month, Robinhood agreed to route some event contracts through OG.com, starting with the football market.
In terms of market mechanisms, this is an opening of the licensing pipeline, with products still expected to be supplied in two steps. Beneficiaries are crypto derivatives groups that already have designated contract market and clearing qualifications, and are supplementing their registration for securities futures; pressured parties include traditional single-stock futures and options venues that envision retail share, as well as counterparts that have not yet obtained perpetual structure licenses. Funds will not flood in on the registration date; actual transactions depend on how many underlying assets can be listed subsequently, how margins are set, and whether the perpetual application is approved by both committees.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
Single-stock futures have long existed in the U.S. but have a weak retail presence; crypto is making perpetual contracts without expiration dates mainstream. Nadex obtaining securities futures registration extends the existing designated contract market qualifications from the commodity side to stock underlyings; perpetual contracts still require simultaneous approval from both regulators, as they are closer to swaps and financing, unlike traditional futures which have delivery months. Robinhood routing event contract orders indicates that retail entry is seeking the same license to trade multiple contracts.
The capital path is to first secure legal status before pursuing product innovation. The cost of 6(g) registration is lower than establishing a new national exchange, with the condition that the venue does not become a centralized market for other securities. Crypto groups use prediction markets and event contracts to maintain liquidity, then use the same clearing stack to connect to stocks. This runs parallel to the SEC granting innovative exemptions for tokenized stock venues on the same day: one path goes through spot mapping, the other through derivatives contracts, both leveraging existing authority after the congressional market structure bill got stuck.
In comparison, Coinbase is pursuing a derivatives subsidiary, while Kalshi is moving towards becoming a designated market for event contracts: whoever first connects retail orders to licensed clearing will define what "stock perpetual" looks like in the U.S. The industry is in a phase of licensing competition, with contract specifications yet to be determined.
Structural judgments belong to regulatory changes. The mechanism is that securities futures fall into the intersection of the two committees; registration must happen before discussing perpetual contracts; without expiration dates, the rollover costs are written as funding rates, while traditional futures write rollovers as month changes. Whoever is authorized to write funding rates will bring the microstructure of crypto into U.S. stock risk exposure.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Registration is first granted for futures with expiration dates; perpetual contracts without expiration are still in a second application.
Supplementing a securities futures registration for a designated contract market is cheaper than establishing a new exchange.
Retail entry seeks new contracts that can be listed on the same clearing stack, not new brands.