Equos, a Singapore-based digital currency exchange operated past Diginex, has announced the launch of a new Bitcoin (BTC) futures product without any settlement dates, marking a substantial leap in the BTC derivatives market.

The firm introduced the BTC Perpetual Futures Contract on Thursday, a production it says is "well suited to the current trading environment." The perpetual contract is geared toward professional traders with diverse adventure profiles, with prices and liquidity provided by independent marketplace makers.

The commutation claims that its new BTC contract is backstopped by its liquidity reserves, which are partially funded through fees and trading revenue.

Unlike traditional futures products, a perpetual futures contract doesn't take a fixed expiry or settlement engagement, which means the user tin hold the position for as long as they wish. Perpetual contracts on Bitcoin are currently offered by BitMEX, i of the largest crypto derivatives platforms.

Richard Byworth, CEO of Diginex, said the new futures contract is intended to bring wider functionality to the crypto derivatives market place, a move he said will "facilitate wider institutional and professional trader adoption of cryptoassets."

He continued:

"This is just the first in a production suite that will offer investors more dynamic hedging tools, fairer liquidation, a platform that is not trading against its users and reputational protection for investors seeking a KYC/AML compliant ecosystem."

The Bitcoin futures market place has exploded over the past few quarters, highlighting the growing institutional uptake of the digital asset. Equos has claimed that crypto derivatives grew at over four times the pace of the spot market in the third quarter, reaching a daily volume pinnacle of $67 billion at the end of November.