Crypto derivatives and institutional growth

Speakers:

• Renzo Anfossi - Head of OTC, Kraken
• Guilhem Chaumont - Cofounder & CEO, Flowdesk
• Clément Moutier - Head of Prime Sales Hedge Funds, SociétéGénérale

Market growth & institutionalisation

• Crypto derivatives volume has grown from $3T (2024) to $7T (2025).
• Derivatives now account for 75% of crypto trading (vs. 95% in TradFi).
• Move from predominantly retail to increasingly institutional market:
  • 30-40% of Flowdesk's revenues now come from institutions.
  • Kraken onboards hedge funds and commodity trading firms.

Derivatives innovations & use cases

• Main requests from institutions:
  • Hedging (ex: stETH)
  • Yield generation
  • Accumulation strategies (selling puts)
• Perpetual futures: unique crypto innovation (instant settlement, lower credit risk).
• Market still "vanilla": mostly BTC/ETH calls & puts, limited liquidity for altcoins.

Regulation & geography

• Trading still dominated by offshore venues (Binance, Bybit, OKX).
• Europe and US = major onshore opportunities with MiFID II and new licences.
• Banks like Société Générale are prioritising regulatory clarity and cost visibility before scaling.

Risks & outlook

• No 2008-style systemic risk: transparent, automated crypto liquidations.
• Risks: hidden leverage in digital treasuries, technical bugs on on-chain derivatives.
• ISDA could become obsolete thanks to real-time visibility of collateral.
• Expected growth for listed derivatives (CME BTC & ETH).

Tokenisation as a growth driver

• Main use cases:
  • On-chain yield (e.g. tokenised money market funds such as BlackRock / BUIDL)
  • Tokenised stocks (e.g. : Tesla via Kraken xStocks)
• Tokenisation transforms collateral management, distribution and market structure → market potential up to $30T.

Kraken strategies

• Expansion of derivatives and OTC offerings, aligned with TradFi standards.
• Preparation of a unified account and collateral on Kraken Pro (FTX-style but institution-grade).
• Development of tokenised equities (xStocks) and options listing projects.

Flowdesk strategies

• Provides market making as a service for token issuers, VCs, banks, ETF providers.
• OTC spot & derivatives, including non-vanilla structures on top 100 assets.
• Active participation in tokenised equities initiatives.

Société Générale's strategies

• Via Prime Services & Forge: access to derivatives and equities, with focus on regulation and cost of capital.
• Current clients: hedge funds & market makers.
• Pension funds, asset managers and sovereign funds remain absent.
• Tokenisation of collateral could reduce counterparty and operational risks.