Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the exchange operator, is advocating for a ‘level playing field’ in the on-chain perpetual futures market. This was stated by the organization’s head, Jeffrey Sprecher, as reported by The Block.
During the Bernstein conference, the top executive confirmed that ICE representatives had met several times with the team from the decentralized platform Hyperliquid. According to him, the company is examining the protocol’s business model amid growing demand for 24/7 trading of commodity derivatives.
“We are not scared. We talk to these people and learn from them. We help them understand our world, and they help us understand theirs,” Sprecher noted.
Earlier, media reported that ICE and CME Group had approached the CFTC and US lawmakers, urging them to pay attention to Hyperliquid’s activities. Traditional exchanges expressed concerns about the impact of anonymous trading on global oil benchmarks and the risks of manipulation.
Sprecher explained that the inquiries to regulators were more of a clarifying nature. ICE wants to understand why it is restricted from offering similar products and how to bridge the regulatory gap between centralized and DeFi platforms.
According to the ICE head, regulators need to decide whether to classify perpetual contracts as a separate category or equate them to swaps under existing regulations.
In May, OKX and ICE announced the launch of perpetual futures for Brent and WTI oil. The listing became possible after ICE invested in OKX and secured a seat on the cryptocurrency exchange’s board of directors.
As another case to watch, Sprecher mentioned the TradeXYZ platform based on Hyperliquid. The platform launched pre-IPO futures for SpaceX shares. According to the ICE head, it will be interesting to compare the market price of the asset on the on-chain market with the results of the company’s actual stock offering.
Back in March, corporations accelerated the transition of stock markets to blockchain. NYSE and Nasdaq supported the trend.