derivatives

According to market news, the Nasdaq-listed company Nakamoto announced its actively managed Bitcoin derivatives program, which will operate starting in the first quarter of 2026. The program aims to generate recurring volatility returns from a portion of the company's Bitcoin holdings and to hedge against some downside risk in Bitcoin prices.The program is managed by Bitwise Asset Management through a separately managed account, with the relevant Bitcoin held by Kraken's qualified custody solution as collateral. The strategy includes covered call options and call spreads on the income side, as well as protective put options and put spreads on the hedging side. Nakamoto stated that the premiums earned from the program could be used to cover hedging costs, increase Bitcoin holdings, or for general corporate purposes. The results for the first quarter of 2026 will be included in the quarterly 10-Q report for that period.

According to the official announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand, the Thai SEC is publicly soliciting opinions on adjusting the licensing rules for futures contracts. The core content allows existing digital asset business operators to directly apply for a futures contract business license without the need to establish a new company, while also formally including digital assets in the category of reference targets for futures contracts.

International oil prices continue to show a fluctuating upward trend, and market trading sentiment remains active. According to data from the Gate platform, WTI crude oil (XTIUSDT) reached a 24-hour high of $92.31, currently reported at $89.47, with an increase of 3.08%; Brent crude oil (XBRUSDT) reached a 24-hour high of $95.58, currently reported at $92.87, with an increase of 3.05%. Driven by the continuous price fluctuations, the trading heat of oil-related derivatives has further intensified.According to CoinGlass data, the 24-hour contract trading volume for WTI crude oil (XTIUSD) on the Gate platform reached $18.8854 million, while the 24-hour contract trading volume for Brent crude oil (XBR) was $13.6128 million, both ranking first globally. Continuous capital inflow has further strengthened Gate's liquidity and leading advantage in the commodity contract sector.Gate contracts pioneered the commodity contract segment, covering XBRUSDT (Brent crude oil), XTIUSDT (WTI crude oil), and NG (natural gas) perpetual contract trading, providing 24/7 trading, USDT settlement, and up to 100 times leverage, assisting users in cross-market asset allocation and strategic layout during volatile market conditions.

According to CoinDesk, the prediction market platform Kalshi is preparing to launch cryptocurrency trading in the United States, expanding beyond its core prediction market business. According to insiders, the platform plans to initially introduce perpetual contracts linked to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.This move will put Kalshi in more direct competition with cryptocurrency platforms like Coinbase. Coinbase currently does not offer true perpetual contracts in the U.S., but has launched "perpetual-like" futures contracts with long durations and has expressed intentions to introduce more advanced derivatives products within the U.S.Kalshi holds several licenses from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and has recently been approved to offer margin trading, positioning it to enter the derivatives market. Insiders say the company expects to start with cryptocurrency-linked perpetual contracts and may expand this model to other asset classes in the future.Kalshi's competitor Polymarket also announced on X plans to launch perpetual futures on its platform, but did not disclose further details. A video in the tweet shows that users will be allowed to trade leveraged long and short positions on assets like gold, NVIDIA, BTC, AAPL, and indicates that registration will provide early access.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's parent company Payward announced that it will acquire 100% of the digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million (cash + stock). The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approval.Bitnomial is the first crypto-native platform to obtain all three U.S. derivatives licenses (designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization, and futures commission merchant). This acquisition will help Payward quickly gain a complete compliant derivatives infrastructure, significantly accelerating its expansion in the U.S. market. After the transaction is completed, Bitnomial's clearing and trading capabilities will be integrated with platforms such as Kraken and NinjaTrader, offering products like spot margin, perpetual contracts, and options to U.S. customers, and will be regulated by the CFTC.This acquisition will also expand Payward Services, allowing banks, fintech companies, and brokerages to access the U.S. compliant derivatives market through a single API. Industry insiders believe that with the market warming up and valuations recovering, merger and acquisition activities in the crypto industry are on the rise, as leading institutions are accelerating their transformation into comprehensive trading platforms for institutional clients by acquiring key capabilities such as compliance, custody, and derivatives.

Totalis announced the completion of a $500,000 seed round financing on platform X, with participation from Y Combinator.Totalis is the first company to receive investment from Y Combinator entirely in the form of USDC, with the funds settled through the Solana network and hosted by Ramp. Totalis positions itself as the core derivatives layer of the prediction market, allowing users to build multi-colored combinations across categories, markets, and venues, covering geopolitical, cryptocurrency, and sports assets, aimed at enhancing capital efficiency in trading and market-making.According to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, YC will make investment payments in stablecoins in the future, and this new financial track of revolution will not be conducted through ACH or wire transfers.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice submitted documents to a federal court on Tuesday, requesting to block Arizona from applying its gambling laws to the prediction market operator Kalshi.Federal regulators argue that contracts linked to sports events, elections, and other real-world events fall under a financial derivative known as "swaps," which should be subject to federal regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act, rather than governed by state gambling laws. Arizona had previously filed criminal charges against Kalshi under state gambling laws, with a hearing scheduled for April 13.The federal appeals court in New Jersey had previously ruled in favor of Kalshi, determining that its sports contracts are presumed legal under federal law in the absence of CFTC intervention, but courts in other jurisdictions have allowed state-level enforcement actions to proceed. If the court ultimately accepts the CFTC's position, prediction markets could operate nationwide under a unified federal framework.

According to BBX data, based on official market announcements and corporate regulatory documents, the latest developments in the compliance infrastructure of global brokerage giants and the financial strategies of mining companies are as follows:Charles Schwab clarifies the spot trading timetable: The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: $SCHW) President and CEO Rick Wurster officially confirmed in a letter to shareholders this Monday that Charles Schwab will launch spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum in the first half of 2026. The plan will undergo a limited rollout in the second quarter (Q2), followed by a full expansion to its large customer base.CME derivatives compliance expansion: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: $CME) announced that, given the record average daily nominal trading volume of $8 billion for its crypto derivatives in March this year, the company has decided to further enhance its crypto strategy by officially launching futures contracts for Avalanche (AVAX) and Sui (SUI) on May 4, including standard and micro versions.Core Scientific plans to fully liquidate Bitcoin reserves: Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: $CORZ) in its latest 10-K annual and quarterly regulatory filings provided Wall Street with extremely clear guidance: during 2026, the company expects to "substantially monetize all" of its Bitcoin reserves to enhance liquidity and fund planned capital expenditures. This means the company will completely transform into a spot seller, liquidating its digital treasury to purchase the hardware needed for AI transformation.

According to analyst Darkfost's data, after the news of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Bitcoin saw an active buying volume of $2.7 billion (taker orders) in the Binance derivatives market within two hours.Analysts pointed out that the easing of geopolitical events pushed the price of Bitcoin up to around $71,700, indicating that investors are optimistic about risk assets in the short term, but are still influenced by subsequent geopolitical developments.

The research report on cryptocurrency market share for the first quarter of 2026 published by CoinGlass shows that the total trading volume in the spot market for the first quarter was approximately $1.94 trillion, while the trading volume for derivatives was about $18.63 trillion, totaling around $20.57 trillion, with a ratio of derivatives to spot trading volume of about 9.6 times.In terms of core indicators, Binance's derivatives trading volume reached approximately $4.9 trillion, accounting for about 34.9% of the top ten exchanges; the average daily open interest was approximately $23.9 billion, accounting for about 29.9%; and user asset reserves were approximately $152.9 billion, accounting for about 73.5% of major centralized exchanges.In terms of derivatives trading volume, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate, and Bitget ranked in the top five. In the dimension of open interest, the second tier ranking changed to Bybit, Gate, OKX, and Bitget. In terms of user asset reserves, only OKX had reserves exceeding $10 billion after Binance, while Gate, Bitget, and Bybit had reserves ranging from $5 billion to $7 billion.

According to Cryptoquant analyst Darkfost, there has been a significant market pattern shift in Ethereum derivatives, the first since the bear market of 2023. Darkfost pointed out that while the net trading volume of ETH has been negative for most of 2023, it has now turned positive. Currently, this metric shows that buying pressure is dominant, with a buying amount of $104 million.It is noteworthy that even when Ethereum's price was close to new highs previously, this metric indicated that selling pressure remained very strong, but now this situation seems to be changing.Darkfost believes that due to the positive buying pressure facing Ethereum, this could help form a stronger bottom. If this dynamic continues, and the spot market and ETFs begin to support this trend, Ethereum may potentially resume its upward trend.

VanEck's research director Matthew Sigel analyzed in a post on the X platform that the current protective demand in the Bitcoin derivatives market has risen to the historical 99th percentile, which is typically seen as a "contrarian buy signal" under extreme risk-averse market sentiment, and he judges that the market is currently suitable for establishing long positions.The VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (NODE), which Matthew Sigel also manages, has risen 27% since its inception, while Bitcoin has fallen 33% during the same period, achieving lower volatility performance through diversified allocation and focusing on profitable sectors. However, he also warns that if the massive capital expenditures in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector do not generate corresponding returns, it could pose substantial pressure on the market, especially in the context of a concentration in S&P 500 constituents.Note: Percentile is a statistical position concept, with the 99th percentile representing a relatively extreme level, and the 50th percentile representing the median level.

CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr stated, "The Bitcoin Position Index is a comprehensive indicator that measures the aggressiveness of long/short positions in the derivatives market, reflecting the current actual opening direction of futures market participants.The 30-day simple moving average (SMA-30d) of this index reached a local high of +3 on March 17 when the Bitcoin price was $73,925, and has since continued to decline, now down to -3.1. This reflects a sustained accumulation of short positions. During the same period, the Bitcoin price fell from $74,883 to $66,603, with the SMA-30d declining in sync with the market price, further confirming a weakening market structure.The liquidation oscillation indicator rebounded from 2.9% in mid-March and has continued to rise, reaching 18.6% as of now. This indicates that the market is continuously generating forced liquidations on the long side, preventing structural recovery. The red bars dominated by short liquidations have not appeared since October 2025. As long as the 30-day moving average (30DMA) remains high and the significant red bars do not return, the pressure on long positions will persist. If the 30DMA reverses downward, it will be the first signal that liquidation balance begins to recover. The reversal of both indicators occurring simultaneously will confirm each other.The Bitcoin price has cumulatively dropped about 11% from the peak of $74,883, and the current derivatives market structure shows no foundation for a sustained reversal: shorts dominate, longs continue to be cleared, and short squeeze scenarios are almost nonexistent. Current operational stance: avoid risk. The main downside risk is: if the pressure from forced liquidations continues and the position SMA-30d remains below the zero axis, the bearish pattern will further solidify, and the downward pressure on Bitcoin price will intensify if it breaks below $66,000.

Lighter founder and CEO Vladimir Novakovski stated during the Q1 investor conference call that Lighter has initiated the application process for on-chain derivatives trading licenses, as it is not feasible to attract large traditional financial institutions like Citadel without a license.

According to the official announcement, Binance has launched 13 new AI Agent skills, and the AI Agent can now access the full range of Binance products: from advanced derivatives trading and algorithm execution to fiat, payments, yield generation, and tokenized securities.Through a unified interface, the AI Agent can now fully execute end-to-end workflows ------ from research and discovery to trading, settlement, and portfolio management, without the need to switch any tools.

According to Cointelegraph, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has released a formal regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchange-traded derivatives, allowing retail customers to participate in trading after a suitability assessment.The new regulations cover requirements such as customer suitability, leverage and margin controls, asset segregation, disclosure standards, and regulatory intervention powers. The leverage limit for retail investors is set at 5 times, and exchanges must restrict access when products are deemed unsuitable for specific customer groups. VARA stated that during periods of market stress or trading disruptions, regulators have the authority to take intervention measures, including suspending products, requiring liquidation, increasing margin requirements, and in emergencies, demanding immediate action without prior notice.

The Federal Court of Australia ordered Binance's Australian derivatives division (i.e., Oztures Trading Pty Ltd) to pay a fine of AUD 10 million (approximately USD 6.9 million).During the period from 2022 to 2023, the entity incorrectly classified over 85% of local customers as wholesale investors, resulting in 524 retail customers being exposed to high-risk crypto derivatives without statutory consumer protections, leading to trading losses of approximately AUD 8,660,000 (about USD 5.9 million) and fee losses of AUD 3,900,000 (about USD 2.7 million). Joe Longo, Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), stated that Binance failed to establish basic compliance review mechanisms and incorrectly approved hundreds of wholesale investor applications. According to the fact statement submitted to the court, Binance acknowledged flaws in its customer onboarding process, allowing applicants to repeatedly take the eligibility test until they passed, and that senior compliance personnel inadequately reviewed application materials. Binance admitted to six violations, including failing to provide product disclosure statements to retail customers, not conducting target market assessments, and not maintaining a compliant internal dispute resolution system. This fine is in addition to approximately AUD 13.1 million (about USD 9 million) in customer compensation previously supervised by ASIC. The entity's Australian financial services license was revoked in April 2023.

According to market news, the Federal Court of Australia has ordered Oztures Trading Pty Ltd (i.e., Binance Australia Derivatives) to pay a fine of 10 million AUD (approximately 6.9 million USD). The court found that the company incorrectly classified over 85% of its Australian customers as wholesale clients between July 2022 and April 2023, resulting in 524 retail investors accessing high-risk crypto derivatives without the necessary protections, leading to a total trading loss of 6.3 million USD and 2.6 million USD in fees.Binance also acknowledged multiple compliance violations, including failing to provide product disclosure statements to retail clients, not completing target market determinations, and not establishing a compliant internal dispute resolution mechanism. This fine is an additional penalty based on a customer compensation order of approximately 9 million USD issued in November 2023. Currently, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has made a statement regarding this case, and Binance has not yet responded to requests for comment.

According to Cointelegraph, Japan's Financial Services Agency has issued warning letters to multiple companies, including KuCoin, for engaging in over-the-counter derivatives trading without registration.In its latest list, the FSA stated that KuCoin, NeonFX, theoption, and GTCFX were notified for "soliciting over-the-counter derivatives trading via the internet." Among them, KuCoin, headquartered in Seychelles, is listed as providing services to Japanese residents. The FSA had previously issued similar warnings to exchanges such as KuCoin and Bybit in November 2024 and requested Apple and Google to suspend downloads of the KuCoin app in February 2025.