Cboe Eyes Perpetual Futures as CFTC Redraws Derivatives Map

Published by James Harris on June 23, 2026June 23, 2026

Cboe is weighing a conversion of its existing Bitcoin (PBT) and Ether (PET) continuous futures into true perpetual contracts, a move that would place it directly inside a derivatives market that processed $61.7 trillion in trading volume during 2025. The disclosure came from ETF Store president Nate Geraci on June 23, citing the ongoing pressure on traditional exchanges to adopt structures that offshore venues built years ago.

The timing is not accidental. The CFTC’s May 29 policy guidance opened a regulated path for perpetual-style derivatives in the U.S., including approval of Kalshi’s perpetual Bitcoin contract, but the agency has signaled it will evaluate each asset and structure individually rather than issue a blanket green light. Kraken has already moved into this space under the CFTC’s regulated framework, and Coinbase is routing U.S. traders to offshore perpetual liquidity under the same guidance rather than listing domestically. CME, meanwhile, has taken a harder line, having challenged the CFTC in court over whether perpetual futures structurally qualify under existing derivatives law. The competitive map is being redrawn in real time.

Cboe’s existing continuous futures already incorporate daily funding-like adjustments and maturities extending to 120 months, which means the structural distance between what it currently offers and a true perpetual is shorter than it looks.

The liquidity gap remains the actual problem. Cboe’s PBT and PET carry open interest that industry sources describe as thin relative to CME’s Bitcoin futures, which regularly hold several billion dollars across maturities. Rebranding a contract as a perpetual does not automatically attract the institutional flow that makes a derivatives market functional. What the CFTC’s recent approvals have done is remove the regulatory ceiling, but Cboe still has to build volume against a CME franchise that institutional desks have used as their hedging benchmark for years.

If Cboe proceeds, the more interesting question is whether regulated U.S. perpetuals can pull any meaningful volume from Binance, OKX, and Bybit, where the $61.7 trillion figure was actually generated. Regulatory clarity matters to some participants, but offshore venues have the liquidity depth and the entrenched user base. A Cboe perpetual would serve a specific slice of the market: institutions that require CFTC-regulated execution and cannot access offshore venues. That is a real constituency, but it is not the whole market.