Binance launches perpetual futures on seven US stocks including Hut 8, AMC
In brief
- Binance launched perpetual futures for Hut 8, AMC, UiPath, Arista Networks, and Cypherpunk Technologies on September 18.
- Contracts offer up to 20x leverage, USDT denomination, and 24/7 trading beyond traditional margin limits.
- Funding rates settle every eight hours with ±2% caps to anchor prices to spot markets.
- US-based traders are restricted from accessing these products per Binance's terms of service.
Perpetual Futures on Equities: How It Works
The new contracts include Hut 8, AMC Entertainment, UiPath, Arista Networks, and Cypherpunk Technologies. Each contract offers up to 20x leverage and round-the-clock trading, allowing a $100 position to control $2,000 in underlying equity exposure—a stark contrast to traditional brokerages, which cap margin at 2x for retail clients under Regulation T.
These aren't tokenized stocks. They're derivative structures that never expire. All are denominated in USDT, Tether's dollar-pegged stablecoin, with a minimum notional value of just 5 USDT. The mechanism uses periodic funding rate payments to keep prices tethered to the spot market, with funding rates settling every eight hours. Funding rate caps are set at +2% and -2% per interval.
The Real-Time Trading Advantage
Traditional stock markets operate roughly 6.5 hours per day, five days a week. Binance lets traders react to earnings reports, geopolitical events, and after-hours news in real time, not the next morning at 9:30 AM Eastern. That's the crypto advantage baked into an equity wrapper—market fluidity without the gatekeeping of NYSE or Nasdaq hours.
Hut 8 is a prominent Bitcoin mining operation, while Cypherpunk Technologies invests in privacy and blockchain-related companies. The inclusion of these crypto-adjacent firms alongside consumer staples like AMC signals Binance's intent to serve traders who straddle both worlds.
Regulatory Friction Ahead
The SEC and CFTC have historically taken a dim view of offshore platforms offering leveraged exposure to US equities to American users. Binance's terms of service restrict US-based traders from accessing these products, a compliance posture that's become standard for Binance as it navigates US regulatory pressure.
This batch follows earlier launches that included perpetual contracts for MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN). Gate.io reportedly introduced similar futures products on the same day, suggesting this product category is becoming mainstream across offshore exchanges. Whether regulators tolerate the trend remains an open question.
