Cronos (CRO) gained approximately 6% on Friday following an announcement from Crypto.com Chief Executive Officer Kris Marszalek that the platform has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to list equity perpetual futures in the United States. The regulatory submission comes shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acknowledged the exchange's Form 1-N filing last week.
Key Takeaways:
- Crypto.com filed with the CFTC to offer equity perpetuals, following SEC acknowledgment of its Form 1-N on September 16.
- Nadex (operating as Crypto.com Derivatives North America) and OG.com submitted the initial Form 1-N on September 14 for 10 stocks, including Apple, AMD, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Micron, Nvidia, Tesla, and SpaceX.
- CRO rose 6% on Friday to extend weekly gains to 9% and monthly gains to 13%, though it remains 93% below its November 2021 record high.
- Competitors Coinbase (filed September 1) and prediction market platform Kalshi—which recently faced a legal setback after the Sixth Circuit Rules Kalshi Must Comply With State Gambling Laws—have also sought regulatory approvals for single-stock perpetual products.
Dual-Regulator Approval Pathway for Equity Perpetuals
An equity perpetual is a stock futures contract without an expiration date. Because single-stock derivative products cross jurisdictional lines in the United States, issuers require regulatory oversight from both the SEC and the CFTC.
On September 14, Chicago-based exchange Nadex—which operates as Crypto.com Derivatives North America—alongside OG.com, filed a Form 1-N with the SEC. The SEC acknowledged the notice on September 16, registering Nadex as a securities exchange strictly for trading security futures effective on the filing date. The form initially named ten cash-settled, expiring stock futures: Apple, AMD, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Micron, Nvidia, Tesla, and SpaceX.
To offer perpetual variations of these stock contracts, Crypto.com required additional CFTC authorization under guidelines established by the agency on May 29, which mandate a case-by-case review process for equity perpetuals. The move follows similar filings, including Coinbase's Form 1-N submission for single-stock perpetuals on September 1, as well as an approval request from Kalshi.
In a statement posted to X, CEO Kris Marszalek noted: "Next step unlocked: We’ve officially filed with the CFTC for equity perps in the US, following our Form 1-N acknowledgement by the SEC last week. Bridging digital asset innovation with US capital markets is happening in real time. Brick by brick."
CRO Token Recovery and Corporate Catalysts
The filing serves as the third major catalyst for Cronos (CRO) this month. The token previously dropped below $0.05 on August 7, marking its lowest valuation since October 2023, after Trump Media terminated two agreements with the exchange.
Prices rebounded from $0.057 to $0.063 on September 8 after Robinhood acquired equity stakes in Crypto.com and OG.com, valuing the platforms at $20 billion and $5 billion, respectively. According to CoinGecko data, CRO has climbed 9% over seven days and 13% on a 30-day basis, though it remains 93% below its November 2021 all-time high.
Why It Matters
The pursuit of CFTC-approved equity perpetuals in the US represents a strategic push by crypto-native exchanges to bridge traditional equity markets with perpetual swap instruments that were previously constrained to offshore digital asset trading. If approved, Crypto.com and its peers could establish a legal framework for 24/7 stock derivative trading for domestic retail and institutional investors. Market participants should monitor whether the CFTC establishes a standardized framework for single-stock perpetuals or evaluates each applicant on an extended case-by-case timeline.
