CFTC Clears First Stock Perpetual Futures for Trading on US Exchanges

Perpetual futures tied to individual stocks can begin trading on regulated US exchanges for the first time, marking an expansion of the derivatives market beyond cryptocurrencies and into traditional equities.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig announced Tuesday that equity perpetual futures, also known as equity perps, have been approved under existing security futures rules.

The contracts will fall under the joint oversight of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), subject to requirements under both commodities and federal securities laws.

Selig said the move would give American traders access to the products through regulated domestic markets instead of relying on offshore platforms, many of which operate outside US regulatory protections.

Perpetual futures allow traders to speculate on an asset's price without owning it. Unlike conventional futures contracts, they have no expiration date and typically use leverage, allowing traders to take larger positions while increasing their exposure to losses.

The products have become a major part of cryptocurrency trading, particularly on offshore exchanges and decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: $HYPE).

Perpetual futures recorded more than $630 billion in trading volume over the past month, according to DeFiLlama data.

The CFTC’s decision follows earlier efforts to bring the derivatives market under US supervision. Earlier this year, the agency approved the first bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a regulated US exchange.

The move comes as ICE (NYSE: $ICE) and OKX plan to launch a platform for tokenized US stocks that would allow investors to trade shares around the clock using blockchain infrastructure and stablecoins.

However, the initiative has faced pushback from major companies, including Nvidia (NASDAQ: $NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: $MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ: $GOOGL) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: $JPM).