US futures exchanges can now strip the expiration dates from their perpetual-style stock index futures. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) granted the no-action relief yesterday (Monday).
The change turns contracts that Coinbase Derivatives listed with expiries of up to 25 years into true perpetuals. The letter came from the CFTC's Division of Market Oversight, in response to an October 1 request from Coinbase.
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The relief is open to any designated contract market (DCM), but it covers only futures on broad-based security indices, a category that covers benchmarks such as the S&P 500.
Perpetual futures use periodic funding payments, in place of an expiry date, to keep their price close to the underlying asset. According to the letter, the market for them grew up mostly on offshore venues.
Kraken put annual crypto perpetuals volume at more than $60 trillion in 2025 when it launched CFTC-regulated perpetuals on Kraken Pro in June. Coinbase chose the long-dated design because of what the letter describes as regulatory uncertainty over how perpetuals should be classified in the US.
Kalshi's Contract Opened the Door
The letter rests on a separate filing. KalshiEX, which began moving into perpetual futures in April, asked the CFTC on August 18 to review a broad-based stock index perpetual. The contract was deemed approved on October 2.
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The division treats that decision as the agency confirming that such contracts are futures. Coinbase filed its request a day before it.
The sequence started on May 29, when the CFTC cleared bitcoin perpetuals and issued a policy statement requiring perpetuals on other assets to go through full Commission review. Weeks later the agency asked for public input on whether the structure can work for crude oil.
Five Days' Notice and a Chance to Exit
Several of the existing contracts carry open interest, and that is where the letter spends most of its caution. Staff wrote that changing a term as material as the expiry date can move prices, leaving some holders with losses and others with gains.
The outcome of such amendments is hard to predict, the division said, adding that "it may be impossible to anticipate" the effect on price discovery and hedging.
Before converting a contract, an exchange must ask traders with open positions about possible harm, give them at least five calendar days' notice and let them close out under the old terms. It must also supply risk disclosures and change nothing except the expiry date.
In return, the division will not recommend enforcement for making the amendments effective immediately. That removes the 10-business-day wait that normally applies to self-certified rule changes under Regulation 40.6.
Staff also said they would not seek a stay of those certifications. A stay gives the agency another 90 days of review and opens a 30-day comment period.
Exchanges still have to file the amendments under Regulation 40.6(a) or 40.5, name the contracts involved and certify that they met every condition. The positions expire on October 20.
The letter does not reach beyond broad-based indices. Coinbase, Kalshi and Kraken parent Payward filed in September for perpetuals on individual stocks and exchange-traded funds, which were listed as pending approval at the time.
CME Group took the dated route, launching 77 single-stock futures in July that require periodic rollovers.
Staff noted that, while the funding mechanism is identical, the existing contracts may still price differently from a true perpetual. The letter binds only the Division of Market Oversight, not the Commission, and staff kept the right to modify or end the positions.
