The contracts settle in INJ with monthly expiries, allowing traders to take price exposure without holding the underlying asset.
Crypto News
Chicago-based derivatives exchange Bitnomial has listed monthly futures contracts tied to Injective's native token, INJ, making it the first U.S.-regulated derivatives product for the Injective protocol. The contracts were announced Wednesday and are available immediately to institutional clients, with retail access expected through Bitnomial's Botanical platform in the coming weeks.
The contracts settle in INJ with monthly expiries, allowing traders to take price exposure without holding the underlying asset. Margin can be posted in crypto or U.S. dollars through Bitnomial's clearinghouse. The exchange also said it plans to add perpetual futures and options tied to INJ.
The listing starts a six-month regulated trading track record that could support a spot exchange-traded fund application under SEC listing rules. Canary Capital filed for a staked INJ ETF in July, with Cboe BZX Exchange submitting a corresponding rule change to the SEC at the same time.
Injective operates a layer-1 blockchain built for financial applications, featuring an on-chain order book and cross-chain connectivity to networks including ETH and SOL. The protocol is positioned as infrastructure for decentralized finance products that require low-latency trade execution.
Bitnomial is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and operates a trading venue, clearinghouse, and brokerage for crypto derivatives. In January, it listed the first U.S.-regulated futures tied to Aptos’ APT, following a similar launch model to the INJ product. The exchange later launched regulated XRP futures for U.S. users in March, citing evolving SEC policy toward crypto derivatives.
U.S.-regulated crypto futures have historically been concentrated in BTC and ETH, with few venues offering derivatives on altcoins. Other exchanges have expanded cautiously: Coinbase launched CFTC-regulated futures for institutional clients in June 2023 and later added retail-sized contracts and 24/7 trading in May 2025. Kraken acquired futures platform NinjaTrader for approximately $1.5 billion in May 2025, gaining a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant in the process.
The INJ contracts represent Bitnomial's continued push to bring altcoin derivatives under U.S. regulatory oversight, at a time when the SEC's posture toward crypto futures products is still taking shape. Whether the six-month futures track record translates into ETF eligibility will depend on the SEC's review of the Canary Capital filing and the corresponding Cboe rule change.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
