Ondo Perps perceives a substantial opening for perpetual futures within the United States, although any domestic iteration would differ significantly from the platform currently operating for non-American participants, according to Chief Executive Officer David Wells.
During an interview with The Block at an Ondo gathering in Seoul, South Korea, Wells noted that delivering perpetual futures, or perps, inside the U.S. represents a “massive opportunity” and that “it makes sense” for Ondo to investigate such growth.
“Everyone is eyeing the U.S. because there are fresh possibilities emerging now that were previously entirely unattainable,” Wells stated. “I will note that it is going to be a distinct product compared to what we have observed. Perps in the U.S. are configured somewhat differently than non-U.S. perps markets, and therefore we shall observe how that develops.”
Wells’ remarks arrive amid a period when American regulators and various corporations are examining how perpetual futures might enter local markets. In August, President Donald Trump announced that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was “working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a fully compliant and legal fashion.”
Heading West
Kraken parent company Payward has subsequently revealed intentions to list Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 perpetual markets for eligible American customers via the CFTC-regulated Bitnomial Exchange and NinjaTrader Clearing, pending authorization. This framework involves a CFTC-regulated wrapper rather than simply granting American traders access to Hyperliquid’s offshore application. Coinbase has likewise submitted applications to introduce single-stock perps in the U.S.
Ondo Finance itself submitted letters earlier this month to both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC contending that U.S. equity perpetual agreements align with the established classification of security futures pursuant to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.
Wells informed The Block on Tuesday that the perpetual agreement alongside its market framework would likely appear comparable in an American version, whereas settlement and clearing processes would require modification to comply with U.S. mandates. Nonetheless, the Ondo Perps chief executive declined to verify any concrete expansion strategies into the U.S., mentioning that the crew has not advanced “too far down the path” regarding American market exploration.
“I believe it will ultimately manifest as roughly two distinct models separating the U.S. from the rest of the world,” Wells remarked.
Tokenized stocks as collateral
Ondo Perps, which debuted in July of this year, functions as a Panama-anchored offshore perpetual trading platform dedicated to tokenized American equities, equity exchange-traded funds, and commodities. Participants are able to leverage USDC or permitted Ondo Stocks tokens as margin to execute trades around the clock on the exchange, utilizing up to 20x leverage for specific agreements.
Wells indicated that the platform’s distinct value proposition stems from enabling participants to utilize tokenized stocks as collateral, maintaining that it yields higher capital efficiency than executing trades on competing perpetual venues.
“The majority of perpetual trading active in the market today relies on stablecoin denominations, meaning you are required to post that specific collateral, which essentially remains immobilized because it underpins your perpetual positions,” Wells explained. On Ondo Perps, conversely, he noted that participants can post tokenized equities as margin while remaining economically exposed to the underlying asset.
On Monday, Ondo Perps announced that participants can presently acquire and dispose of 12 distinct Ondo Stocks directly on the perpetual platform itself, meaning traders depositing those tokens as collateral are no longer obligated to oversee positions across two distinct venues. Wells mentioned that the platform will eventually broaden availability to encompass all Ondo Stocks.
Since introducing its private beta phase, Ondo Perps has amassed approximately $14 billion in aggregate trading activity and recently registered open interest surpassing $100 million, per Wells. He further noted that these figures demonstrate surging demand alongside an escalating general enthusiasm for RWA offerings and tokenization protocols.
Wells pointed out that this volume comprises retail click-based traders, institutional market-makers and hedging participants, B2B2C distribution channels, and data aggregators.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-29-ondo-perps-ceo-interview-david-wells-417125.
