Perps Aren't the Villain, They're Just Mislabeled 📜

Perpetual futures have become one of crypto's defining financial products, but DRW CEO Don Wilson says much of what people think they know about them is wrong. In a series of posts on X on July 28, 2026, Wilson argued that perpetual futures — commonly called "perps" — are simply futures contracts without an expiration date. The features often associated with crypto perpetuals, including high leverage, auto-deleveraging (ADL) and around-the-clock trading, are characteristics of how certain crypto exchanges chose to implement the products rather than traits of the contracts themselves. "Most of what people think they know about 'perps' ... has nothing to do with the contract itself," Wilson wrote.

His comments come as interest in bringing perpetual futures into regulated U.S. markets continues to grow. Several exchanges and market participants have explored launching perpetual futures beyond crypto, including Kalshi, which recently submitted a proposal with regulators to expand its offerings to precious metals after perps trading volumes surged on its platform. Questions remain over how the products should be regulated and whether they fit within existing futures or swaps frameworks.

Unlike traditional futures markets, crypto exchanges such as Hyperliquid operate continuously, use digital collateral and can calculate margin requirements in real time. Those technological differences have allowed exchanges to offer products with higher leverage and alternative liquidation mechanisms, including ADL, which automatically reduces winning positions when losing traders cannot cover their losses. Wilson said those design choices should not be confused with perpetual futures themselves. "I'm not a fan of ADL," he wrote, adding that there is "no reason it needs to be used for perps."

Wilson argued that digital payment rails create opportunities to improve risk management. Traditional clearinghouses generally calculate margin once a day, with market participants often having until the following business day to post additional collateral. Because markets can move significantly during that window, clearinghouses require relatively large initial margin buffers. With real-time settlement, exchanges can recalculate margin continuously and require traders to post collateral immediately, reducing the need for large upfront margin requirements while maintaining the same level of protection, Wilson said. Whether exchanges choose to translate those efficiencies into higher leverage is a business decision, not a defining feature of perpetual futures.