The Chicago-based derivatives exchange said on Wednesday that the crypto settled contracts are listed on its CFTC regulated designated contract market, offering institutional and retail participants a regulated route to gain exposure to INJ for trading, hedging and portfolio construction.

“Injective has built one of the more technically ambitious Layer 1 blockchains in the market,” said Michael Dunn, president of Bitnomial Exchange. “Listing INJ futures gives traders a regulated instrument to express a view on that thesis and adds another building block toward a potential spot ETF under the SEC’s generic listing standards.”

The futures have monthly expiries, with traders able to post either digital assets or US dollars as margin through Bitnomial’s clearinghouse. Contracts are currently available via clearing member futures commission merchants, with retail access expected to follow through the firm’s Botanical platform in the coming weeks.

“Regulated US derivatives markets represent a critical milestone for any digital asset seeking broad institutional participation,” said Eric Chen, co-founder at Injective. “The launch of INJ futures on Bitnomial’s CFTC regulated exchange validates the demand for institutional grade access to Injective and opens the door for a wider range of market participants to engage with the network.”

Injective is a Layer 1 blockchain designed for financial applications, featuring an on chain order book, cross chain interoperability and low transaction costs. The protocol has attracted institutional validators and forms part of a broader push to integrate blockchain infrastructure into capital markets.

The new contracts expand Bitnomial’s Crypto Complex, which offers a range of futures, options and perpetual products across digital assets. Contracts on the platform are settled in crypto and can be margined with digital assets, providing an alternative to cash only models.

Bitnomial said it plans to introduce additional INJ products, including perpetual futures and options, as exchanges continue to broaden their digital asset derivatives offerings.

This comes as Nevada-headquartered Higher Roller on Tuesday said it has agreed to collaborate with Crypto.com Derivatives North America, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission registered cryptocurrency exchange and clearinghouse, to launch event-based prediction market contracts in the US.

Crypto.com on Friday also launched swaps and event contracts on cryptocurrencies ONDO and SEI.