PANews reported on April 16th, citing Cointelegraph, that Chicago-based crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial has launched a monthly futures contract for Injective, marking the first time the Injective token has entered a regulated US derivatives market. The contract settles in INJ, expires monthly, and allows traders to gain price exposure without holding the underlying asset. All margin can be settled in cryptocurrency or USD through Bitnomial. Institutional clients can trade the futures immediately, and retail trading is expected to open in the coming weeks through Bitnomial's Botanical platform. Bitnomial also plans to add INJ perpetual futures and options.

Analysts say the launch of the Injective futures contract will begin a six-month trading period, potentially supporting applications for spot ETFs. Previously, in July of this year, Canary Capital submitted an application to the SEC for a pledged INJ ETF.