CFTC Opens Door to True Perpetual Futures on US Exchanges

Published October 6, 2026, 13:30 UTC. Based on CFTC Release 9308-26, dated October 5, 2026.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight on Monday said it will not take enforcement action against US exchanges that convert existing perpetual-style futures into true perpetual futures, opening a path for perpetual contracts on regulated American venues. The no-action relief was issued October 3 and announced October 5 as Release 9308-26.

What the relief allows

Designated contract markets may remove expiration dates from their existing perpetual-style broad-based security index futures, converting them into true perpetual futures, once they satisfy the customer-protection and procedural conditions in the letter, according to the CFTC.

The conditions

Before removing an expiration date, exchanges must solicit feedback from traders holding open positions, give at least five days’ advance notice with an opportunity to exit, provide risk disclosures, and leave every other contract term unchanged, the letter says. Exchanges must file the amendments under CFTC Regulations 40.5 or 40.6 and certify compliance with all conditions. The no-action positions expire on October 20, 2026.

Why Coinbase asked

The relief followed an October 1 request from Coinbase Derivatives to waive the standard 10-business-day waiting period for contract amendments, according to CoinEdition. The waiver lets eligible exchanges implement the expiry removal immediately instead of waiting out the clock.

Perpetual futures, contracts with no expiry that track an underlying price through funding payments, dominate crypto trading on offshore venues but have never been offered on regulated US exchanges. The relief gives American exchanges a route to compete, but it is narrow: it covers broad-based security index futures only, it is conditional, and it lapses in two weeks unless extended or replaced.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• CFTC, Release 9308-26: No-action relief for converting perpetual-style broad-based security index futures (Oct. 5, 2026), primary source
• CoinEdition, CFTC Clears Path for US Exchanges to Launch Perpetual Futures (Oct. 5, 2026)
• Crowdfund Insider, CFTC Issues No-Action Letter for DCMs on true perpetual futures (Oct. 6, 2026)