Cboe Global Markets will launch Bitcoin and ether “continuous futures” on December 15, making it the first U.S. exchange to offer crypto derivatives designed to function like perpetual futures.
The new contracts – Bitcoin Continu Futures (PBT) and Ether Continu Futures (PET) – will be listed on the Cboe Futures Exchange and are aimed at traders who want long-term crypto exposure without having to worry about rolling over expiring futures contracts. Each will have a 10-year expiration at the time of listing and will be settled in cash, with daily funding adjustments to maintain alignment with spot prices.
Cboe first announced the products in September, billing them as a response to the popularity of perpetual futures on offshore platforms. Perpetual futures contracts, although first proposed in 1993, have found little success in traditional finance (TradFi) while becoming popular in crypto circles because they allow traders to hold leveraged crypto positions indefinitely.
Cboe’s products, unlike their offshore counterparts, are designed to meet US regulatory standards, with clearing handled by Cboe Clear US, a clearinghouse regulated by the CFTC.
“Cboe’s Continu Futures structure is designed to enable streamlined and efficient portfolio and risk management, while providing investors with a controlled means of gaining leveraged exposure to digital assets,” Rob Hocking, Cboe’s global head of derivatives, said in a statement.
Instead of physical delivery, contracts are settled in cash. A daily funding amount – similar to the interest payments used in perpetual futures contracts – will adjust open positions based on the Cboe Kaiko real-time rate for bitcoin and ether.
The products could be of interest to sophisticated hedge funds, asset managers and retail traders who are hesitant to use offshore crypto platforms due to regulatory uncertainty or counterparty risks. The contracts will also allow for short sales and margin trading, with potential cross-margins to other Cboe crypto futures contracts such as financially settled Bitcoin (FBT) and Ether (FET) products.
Trading will take place almost 24 hours a day, from Sunday at 6 p.m. to Friday at 5 p.m. ET, with a one-hour break each day.
