JJ Kinahan

JJ Kinahan

Head of alternative investments, CBOE

Bio

JJ (Joe) Kinahan is a veteran financial markets executive and one of the most recognizable voices in U.S. retail trading. He currently serves as Senior Vice President, Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products at Cboe Global Markets, where he leads initiatives designed to broaden retail participation and advance access to innovative investment products. Kinahan was most recently CEO of IG North America and President of tastytrade, overseeing tastytrade, tastylive, and IG's FX businesses. In these roles, he guided strategy, technology development, and the delivery of cutting-edge trading tools and educational content for retail investors. He also serves on the Board of Trustees at Aurora University and the Board of the Greenwood Project, and is a frequent market commentator across major financial media outlets. Kinahan began his trading career as a market maker on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, specializing in the S&P 100 (OEX) and S&P 500 (SPX) pits. He later held senior trading and leadership roles at ING Bank, Blue Capital, and Van Der Moolen USA. He joined thinkorswim in 2006 and went on to hold several key positions at TD Ameritrade, including Managing Director of Trading and Chief Market Strategist. During his tenure, he became one of the industry's most widely cited experts, known for his clear, accessible insights on market structure, derivatives, and retail investor behavior. In 2026, Cboe Global Markets announced that Kinahan would join the exchange as Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products, further cementing his leadership in shaping the future of retail market engagement. Kinahan is the author of Essential Options Strategies and is widely recognized for his commitment to investor education, market transparency, and the advancement of retail trading technology.

Talks

Perpetual Futures: A Novel Market Structure

Panel
Tuesday, March 31st 2026
10:15 - 10:55
bema
Description

Perpetual futures have quietly become one of the most traded derivatives instruments in the world, yet most of traditional finance still doesn't fully understand them. Sitting between CFDs and dated futures, perps offer continuous exposure, transparent price formation, and capital efficiency that is increasingly attracting institutional attention beyond their crypto-native roots. But growth brings hard questions. What does proper market governance look like when liquidation cascades can wipe out hundreds of millions in minutes? How do regulated venues build infrastructure that protects participants without sacrificing the speed and accessibility that made perps compelling in the first place? And as demand grows for perps on equities, indices, and macro products. How far can this market structure scale?. Moderated by John Motzel of Kaiko, this panel features JJ Kinahan of CBOE and Josh Barraclough of One Trading; two operators with distinct approaches to clearing, regulation, and product design. In a candid conversation about what perpetual futures are, what they're becoming, and what the rest of the market needs to understand about them.