Overview
- CFTC Division of Market Oversight staff issued Staff Letter No. 26-19 that gives designated contract markets a no‑action assurance to remove expiration dates from qualifying perpetual‑style futures so those contracts can become true perpetuals.
- The staff position lets exchanges make the amendments effective immediately without the usual 10‑business‑day self‑certification wait, but requires filings under Regulations 40.5 or 40.6 and staff reserved the right to modify or end the relief.
- Exchanges must solicit feedback from holders with open positions, give at least five calendar days’ notice and let affected traders close out under the old terms, and they must supply specific risk disclosures and certify compliance before converting contracts.
- Coverage of the letter disagrees on which assets qualify: some reports limit eligibility to digital commodities with deep, active spot markets like Bitcoin while others describe the relief as applying to broad‑based security index futures, leaving the scope unsettled.
- The change follows earlier CFTC steps on perpetuals and could concentrate perpetual listings around assets with continuous spot markets, which affects price discovery, hedging for open positions, and how exchanges compete for liquidity.