New Products Aim to Provide U.S.-Regulated Access to Perpetual-Style Trading
Cboe Global Markets announced its intention to launch perpetual-style Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, referred to as continuous futures, on December 15, pending regulatory review. These new products will be listed on the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE).
Each futures contract is designed with a 10-year expiration and will incorporate a daily cash adjustment mechanism to ensure its price remains aligned with the underlying asset. Rob Hocking, Cboe's global head of derivatives, explained that this initiative aims to expand access to perpetual futures within a U.S.-regulated, transparent, and intermediary-friendly environment, as these products have historically been traded predominantly offshore.
The launch comes at a time of significant activity in the futures market, with perpetual futures on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) reaching a record $1 trillion in volume in September. Centralized exchange futures volumes, heavily influenced by perpetuals, approached $7 trillion in the preceding month.
Trading Details and Market Alignment
Cboe's continuous futures, named PBT for Bitcoin and PET for Ethereum, are scheduled to trade on a 23x5 basis, operating Sunday through Friday from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. UTC. The pricing for these contracts will reference Cboe Kaiko Real-Time Rates. A daily funding amount will be applied to all open positions to maintain alignment with spot prices.
These futures will be cash-settled and cleared through Cboe Clear U.S. Margin requirements will adhere to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rules, with potential for cross-margining offsets against other CFE-listed crypto futures. This includes existing financially settled Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts already available on the exchange.
Anne-Claire Maurice, managing director of derived data at Kaiko, highlighted that introducing perpetual-style futures to U.S. regulated markets addresses a clear demand from institutional investors seeking efficient, long-term exposure to cryptocurrencies. She noted that these continuous futures are designed to eliminate the operational complexities associated with rolling positions while upholding the transparency and oversight characteristic of regulated markets.
Regulatory Review and Market Developments
Cboe had initially targeted a November 10 launch date for these products but opted to delay the introduction to allow for additional regulatory review time. The CFTC had previously requested public feedback in April regarding the potential benefits and risks associated with perpetual derivatives.
In parallel developments, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced its plans on Monday to launch its own Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures on November 24, citing rising institutional demand. Open interest in perpetual futures across the crypto market has reached approximately $767 billion.