Ten years ago, BitMEX launched the first perpetual futures (“perps”) for cryptocurrencies. Today, these derivatives drive most of the world’s crypto trading volume.

Several overseas platforms subsequently launched equity perps for individual stocks, and the CFTC greenlit their trading in the U.S. in early November. On the surface, equity perps resemble stock options without expiration dates. But let’s dig deeper to see how these derivatives might shake up the market once they’re more broadly adopted.

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What are perpetual futures?

Single-stock perps are simpler than options. In traditional options trading, an investor buys a contract to either buy a stock (a call) or sell it (a put) at a fixed price at a…