Cboe to launch perpetual-style bitcoin and ether futures on Dec. 15

Cboe Global Markets will launch perpetual-style bitcoin and ether futures — called “continuous” futures — on Dec. 15, pending regulatory review. 

The new products, to be listed on Cboe Futures Exchange, are designed to give traders long-term, perpetual-like exposure to bitcoin and ether without the operational burden of rolling contracts, the exchange operator said Monday. Each futures contract will list with a 10-year expiration and apply a daily cash adjustment meant to keep prices aligned with the underlying asset.

"As perpetual futures have historically been traded offshore, Cboe is excited to help expand access to these products within a U.S.-regulated, transparent, and intermediary-friendly environment," said Rob Hocking, Cboe’s global head of derivatives. "The structure of Cboe's Continuous Futures is designed to enable streamlined and efficient portfolio and risk management, while providing investors a controlled way to gain some leveraged exposure to digital assets."

Cboe had initially targeted a Nov. 10 launch date for the products, pending regulatory review.

Perpetual futures, or perps as they’re better known, have long been crypto’s most heavily traded instruments. Volumes and revenues from perp products across both centralized and decentralized exchanges have surged in recent months.

Perpetual futures DEX volumes topped $1 trillion in September — the highest on record — while centralized exchange futures volumes, driven largely by perpetuals, reached nearly $7 trillion last month, led by Binance and OKX, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard.

Cboe’s perpetual-like contracts — PBT for bitcoin and PET for ether — will trade Sunday through Friday, from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET on a 23×5 basis. The products will reference Cboe Kaiko Real-Time Rates, with a daily funding amount applied to open positions to maintain alignment with spot prices.

The futures will be cash-settled and cleared through Cboe Clear U.S., with margin requirements set under CFTC rules and potential cross-margining offsets with other CFE-listed crypto futures, including the financially settled bitcoin (FBT) and ether (FET) contracts.

"Bringing perpetual-style futures to U.S. regulated markets addresses a real need for institutional investors seeking efficient, long-term crypto exposure," said Anne-Claire Maurice, managing director of derived data at Kaiko. "These continuous futures eliminate the operational friction of rolling positions while maintaining the transparency and oversight that regulated markets provide."

Earlier today, Singapore Exchange also said it plans to launch bitcoin and ether perpetual futures on Nov. 24 to meet rising institutional demand.