Key Takeaways
- • The CFTC has cleared perpetual futures tied to individual stocks, called Equity Perps, for regulated US exchanges, the first time such contracts have been allowed on US venues, according to CoinDesk.
- • CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the contracts were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products, placing them under the Commodity Exchange Act and federal securities law.
- • No exchange, contract list or launch date has been announced, so the approval is a statement of legal status rather than a tradable product until an exchange files to list one.
- • Perpetual contracts recorded more than $630 billion in trading volume over the past month, per DeFiLlama data cited by CoinDesk, mostly on offshore and decentralized platforms.
- • Intercontinental Exchange's planned minority stake in Trade[XYZ] and the CFTC-SEC memorandum of understanding signed March 11 frame the broader push to bring perpetuals onto US-regulated venues.
Summary
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has cleared perpetual futures tied to individual stocks for regulated US exchanges, CoinDesk reported. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, in a statement, described the contracts as Equity Perps and said they were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products, a category created by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. As a result, they fall under the Commodity Exchange Act, federal securities law, and the rules of both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Selig said the move gives US traders a regulated alternative to offshore and often unregulated venues.
The approval does not yet translate into a product. Bitcoin Magazine noted that the statement names no exchange, lists no contracts and sets no launch date. Until an exchange files to list a stock perpetual, the approval is a statement of legal status and not something traders can buy.
Perpetual futures, contracts with no expiration date, have been a staple of crypto trading. CoinDesk said perpetual contracts recorded more than $630 billion in trading volume over the past month, citing DeFiLlama data, with Hyperliquid a major venue. Cointelegraph, in a report carried on TradingView, described Hyperliquid as the world's largest decentralized exchange for these instruments.
The path to stock perpetuals has run through crypto. Bitcoin Magazine reported that the CFTC approved the first US-listed bitcoin perpetual, Kalshi's BTCPERP, on May 29, and Kalshi added gold and silver perpetuals in September. Cointelegraph reported that the CFTC said at the time that perpetuals tied to other asset classes would get case-by-case review. On Oct. 29, Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, said it would seek regulatory approval for retail-focused perpetual markets with Trade[XYZ] covering cryptocurrencies, stocks, indexes, commodities and currencies. ICE is taking a minority stake in Trade[XYZ] without disclosing the amount or a launch date, and distribution is expected through ICE's joint venture with OKX, pending separate approvals.
The CFTC and SEC signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11 to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement, Bitcoin Magazine reported, and Selig cited that agreement and the 2000 law in his statement. He also repeated SEC Chairman Paul Atkins's description of security futures as stranded in a regulatory no man's land because the agencies had not harmonized their rules. Selig said the two agencies have turned the page on that era and want to give innovative products a clear path to market.
The approval does not yet translate into a product. Bitcoin Magazine noted that the statement names no exchange, lists no contracts and sets no launch date. Until an exchange files to list a stock perpetual, the approval is a statement of legal status and not something traders can buy.
Perpetual futures, contracts with no expiration date, have been a staple of crypto trading. CoinDesk said perpetual contracts recorded more than $630 billion in trading volume over the past month, citing DeFiLlama data, with Hyperliquid a major venue. Cointelegraph, in a report carried on TradingView, described Hyperliquid as the world's largest decentralized exchange for these instruments.
The path to stock perpetuals has run through crypto. Bitcoin Magazine reported that the CFTC approved the first US-listed bitcoin perpetual, Kalshi's BTCPERP, on May 29, and Kalshi added gold and silver perpetuals in September. Cointelegraph reported that the CFTC said at the time that perpetuals tied to other asset classes would get case-by-case review. On Oct. 29, Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, said it would seek regulatory approval for retail-focused perpetual markets with Trade[XYZ] covering cryptocurrencies, stocks, indexes, commodities and currencies. ICE is taking a minority stake in Trade[XYZ] without disclosing the amount or a launch date, and distribution is expected through ICE's joint venture with OKX, pending separate approvals.
The CFTC and SEC signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11 to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement, Bitcoin Magazine reported, and Selig cited that agreement and the 2000 law in his statement. He also repeated SEC Chairman Paul Atkins's description of security futures as stranded in a regulatory no man's land because the agencies had not harmonized their rules. Selig said the two agencies have turned the page on that era and want to give innovative products a clear path to market.
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