According to Fortune, American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation (APEC), a US startup, has completed a $30 million funding round, valuing the company at approximately $300 million post-money. The company plans to launch a perpetual contract trading platform in the US, offering products covering stocks and stock indices, rather than cryptocurrencies.
Plans to apply for a US license
APEC was initiated by Theodore Gillibrand. The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, stated that this funding round was led by Lux Capital. A Lux Capital spokesperson subsequently confirmed their participation in the round.
According to presentation materials submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, APEC plans to apply for a license from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch perpetual contracts for stocks and stock indices.
Perpetual contracts are expanding from crypto to a wider market.
Perpetual contracts are a type of futures product without a fixed expiration date, allowing traders to trade price movements without directly holding the underlying asset. These products have long been popular on digital asset trading platforms and have begun to be discussed in broader financial markets in the past year.
The report mentions that the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid initially excelled in perpetual contracts and has now become one of the most profitable protocols in the crypto industry. Several startups in this sector have also received support from well-known venture capital firms in recent years.
In May of this year, prediction market Kalshi became the first U.S. company to offer Bitcoin perpetual contracts to U.S. traders after receiving approval from the CFTC. This was seen as a signal that the U.S. regulatory system was beginning to formally accept such products.
Regulatory background and political connections are attracting attention.
In a statement, Theodore Gillibrand said that the future of the relevant markets should not continue to be dominated by offshore, unregulated overseas institutions, but should be taken over by regulated U.S. domestic institutions.
The report also mentioned that Theodore's mother, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has long been considered one of the more crypto-friendly Democratic members of Congress. She was involved in pushing for the Genius Act, a bill regulating stablecoins. This family background has drawn more attention to APEC's current funding and subsequent licensing applications.
Currently, APEC is still in the preparatory stage and trading services have not yet been officially launched.
