Rails Secures NFA Membership to Launch Regulated Perpetual Futures for U.S. Institutions

Rails Markets Inc. has secured National Futures Association membership and CFTC registration as an Introducing Broker, clearing the way for regulated perpetual futures trading for U.S. institutions. This move addresses a significant gap in the domestic market, allowing institutional players to access high-volume crypto derivatives within a compliant, onshore framework rather than relying on offshore platforms.

What was announced

Rails Holdings Inc. is launching a regulated infrastructure layer designed to bring perpetual futures (perps) to the U.S. institutional market. By securing status as an Introducing Broker, the firm’s affiliate, Rails Markets Inc., can now facilitate trading for a dominant derivative instrument that accounted for 93% of all crypto derivatives trading and nearly $93 trillion in global volume in 2025.

The offering is built as a private-labeled solution for fintechs, brokerages, exchanges, and prediction markets. Through a single API integration, these entities can leverage Rails' infrastructure to offer margined perps and options to their end users. To underpin the regulatory and clearing requirements, Rails has entered a strategic partnership with Crypto.com and OG.com. This collaboration provides access to a regulated stack comprising a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), and a Designated Contract Market (DCM). This partnership enables a fully regulated onshore path for margined perps trading.

Technically, the platform includes a high-performance matching engine, margin management, risk monitoring, and compliance systems. Rails reports it has already executed more than $3.6 billion in trade volume and 100 million trades, maintaining 99.99% system uptime since its launch. Beyond its new U.S. credentials, the group holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration and a Securities Investment Business Act (SIBA) license from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority through its affiliate, Rails Limited.

The companies involved

Rails Holdings Inc., which operates from offices in Miami and Toronto, provides the underlying infrastructure for derivatives trading. The company is backed by $20 million in funding from a group of investors including Slow Ventures, CMCC Global, and Kraken. Its core value proposition is enabling financial platforms to launch branded derivatives products without building the complex matching and compliance engines from scratch. The firm has spent three years developing its technical platform, which is designed to serve as a compliant backend for global financial institutions.

The partnership relies heavily on the established infrastructure of Crypto.com and OG.com. Crypto.com is a major global player in the digital asset space with a significant presence in the retail and institutional markets. OG.com operates as a regulated entity providing the necessary clearing and exchange functions required for futures trading in the United States. This arrangement allows Rails to act as the technology and brokerage layer while leveraging the existing regulatory licenses of its partners to ensure a fully compliant onshore path for margined products. Together, these entities are attempting to bridge the gap between traditional finance standards and the high-growth crypto derivatives sector.

What FF News has reported before

While Rails is a new addition to our coverage, FF News has extensively tracked the expansion of its partners. We recently reported on how Crypto.com and OG.com Launch Regulated Crypto Perpetuals for US Traders, a move that set the stage for this infrastructure expansion. Crypto.com has also been active in broadening the utility of its ecosystem, as seen when PredictArena Launches Creator-Centric Prediction Market with Crypto.com Partnership. These developments highlight a concerted effort by major digital asset firms to integrate more deeply with regulated market structures in the U.S., moving away from the offshore models that previously dominated crypto derivatives trading.

What this means

The arrival of regulated perpetual futures onshore signals a significant maturing of the U.S. crypto market. For years, domestic institutions were sidelined or forced into complex offshore arrangements to access perps, which are the primary source of crypto liquidity globally. By providing a private-labeled backend, Rails is lowering the barrier for traditional brokerages and fintechs to enter this space. This puts pressure on offshore exchanges that have long relied on U.S. capital flowing through less regulated channels. The central question for the industry is whether the liquidity will migrate quickly enough to satisfy institutional demand, or if the regulatory overhead of onshore trading will create friction that keeps volume on international platforms.