On November 1, 2026, AMBCrypto reported that Don Wilson, founder and CEO of DRW, is cautious about plans backed by an exchange operator to bring an onchain perpetual futures exchange’s trading to the U.S. According to the same AMBCrypto report, Wilson raised four issues and wondered whether they align with CFTC core principles. The first issue is whether onchain trading of perps has a benefit if a centralized exchange can offer the same product. The other three concern position visibility, priority fees and order book merging.

Why It Matters

AMBCrypto describes a contrast. On CFTC-regulated markets, participants are partially hidden, so traders do not know the identities of those they trade against. The onchain exchange’s order book, by comparison, is described as “fully transparent,” and wallets and trades can be tracked. Wilson asked a backer of the deal whether they were aware that “the world will be able to track your positions and trades in real time,” and whether they see that as a benefit. The report does not describe a CFTC position on that question. Wilson concluded, according to AMBCrypto, that the onchain trading plan could present trading inefficiencies and regulatory hiccups. That is an assessment, not a regulatory finding, and the report does not say how likely those outcomes are.

AMBCrypto wrote that perhaps the most crucial questions were about possible front-running of trades using priority fees and whether the US order book will be merged with a more liquid global order book. Rebecca Rettig, legal chief at Jito Labs, said there could be privacy solutions to address the transparency issue, but she agreed that merging onshore and offshore order books was the most crucial issue. As a case in point, the report cites a US crypto exchange that has thinner liquidity because it does not share an order book with its global counterpart. On our reading, a separate US book could carry less liquidity than a merged one. That is our inference from the report’s example, not a forecast.

The report does not say which core principles Wilson had in mind. For context, the CFTC’s rules reproduce the statutory text, including Core Principle 9, which says a board of trade shall provide “a competitive, open, and efficient market and mechanism for executing transactions.” Core Principle 12 calls for rules “to protect markets and market participants from abusive practices committed by any party” and “to promote fair and equitable trading on the contract market.” Our interpretation is that these are the kinds of tests that priority-fee ordering and order book design could be measured against. The report does not say any principle was applied, and it adds that it remains to be seen how the CFTC will address the flagged issues. Until then, a redesign or a separate US book is a possibility, not an outcome. For traders, three details are worth watching if US access arrives: whether positions stay public, how priority fees affect order handling, and whether the US book is merged or separate. Those details would show how each question is handled, and none is settled in the report.

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On LeverUp, perpetual futures trade through a protocol-managed virtual liquidity architecture.