CFTC grants U.S. exchanges temporary exemption for perpetual futures

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has granted a temporary exemption and conditional no-action relief allowing eligible U.S. designated contract markets to convert certain existing contracts into perpetual contracts. Unlike traditional futures, these perpetual contracts do not have a fixed expiration date and utilize a funding-rate mechanism to maintain price alignment with spot markets.

The relief, which follows a request from Coinbase Derivatives, permits exchanges to offer these products provided they meet specific conditions. Exchanges must consult traders with open positions, provide at least five days’ notice before removing expiration dates, and allow traders to close contracts under existing terms. They must also disclose all associated risks.

This regulatory move expands the structural flexibility of regulated domestic exchanges into a derivatives format previously common in crypto markets but largely outside the traditional futures framework. The decision follows previous CFTC orders regarding perpetual futures tied to bitcoin and other digital commodities, and recent approvals for perpetual futures based on broad security indexes.