The Perps Market May Be Converging With Crypto, Not Wall Street

Crypto’s perpetual futures market is often discussed as evidence that the industry is becoming more like traditional finance. But in a CoinDesk opinion piece, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen argues the largest derivatives market may actually show the reverse: Wall Street is increasingly adapting to crypto’s trading behavior rather than the other way around.

That framing matters because perps have become one of crypto’s defining instruments. They are fast, highly leveraged and active around the clock, a structure that differs sharply from the session-based markets that dominate traditional finance. For years, observers have treated the growth of perps as a sign that digital assets are being packaged into familiar market structures. Chen’s argument challenges that assumption and suggests the market’s center of gravity may still be distinctly crypto-native.

The distinction is not just semantic. If crypto markets are setting the tone for derivatives trading, then liquidity, risk management and market-making strategies may need to evolve around the realities of a 24/7 market rather than imported conventions from equities or futures exchanges. That is particularly relevant in perps, where pricing, funding rates and forced liquidations can move quickly and amplify volatility.

The CoinDesk piece does not provide a full market study or hard data set, but it highlights a broader debate in the sector: whether digital assets are converging toward Wall Street norms or whether traditional finance is being pulled toward crypto’s operating model. In the case of perpetuals, Chen’s view implies the latter is more accurate.

The argument also reflects how crypto market infrastructure has matured. Large derivatives venues now sit at the center of price discovery and trading activity, and their design often reflects the needs of a global, always-on market. That can make the product set feel familiar to traditional traders, but the underlying market dynamics remain different.

For market participants, the takeaway is less about declaring a winner in the convergence debate and more about recognizing that perpetual futures have become a core venue for crypto liquidity. Whether that ends up reshaping Wall Street or simply reinforcing crypto’s own market structure remains open to interpretation.

As presented by CoinDesk, Chen’s view is a reminder that the direction of influence in crypto markets is still up for debate. The biggest derivatives market may not be a sign that crypto has grown into Wall Street. It may instead be evidence that Wall Street is still learning how to fit crypto’s mold.