Invest1 publisher2 min readPublished
CFTC staff give Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial 18 days to turn 38 crypto futures into true perpetuals
CFTC staff let Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial strip expiry dates from 38 crypto futures, under relief that lapses on June 30. Only contracts on assets with deep spot markets qualify, so the underlying assets decide how many of the 38 convert.
The Investor · Invest desk
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What happened
- The contracts already traded like perpetuals but carried distant expiry dates, some set as far as 25 years out.
- The letter lets exchanges skip the usual self-certification waiting period under CFTC Regulation 40.6 when they delete an expiry.
- The relief follows the CFTC's approval of KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a bitcoin perpetual contract.
Compiled by The InvestorSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- capability Open positions at Bitnomial and Coinbase Derivatives carry through the conversion, so neither exchange has to rebuild liquidity in a new listing.
- constraint A conversion not filed by June 30 loses the timing relief and, according to Crypto Briefing, may have to go through the standard process.
- precedent US perpetuals now rest on a staff enforcement promise and one product approval, so the next exchange seeking the same treatment will likely ask staff for a letter.
Bitnomial and Coinbase Derivatives keep what they already have. Existing contracts, users and positions move to the new structure through a defined process, with no new listings launched from scratch [13]. Neither exchange has to open a fresh order book and persuade traders to roll into it. The CFTC is not writing a rule either. Staff used a no-action letter, a promise not to recommend enforcement if conditions are met [3].
The dates being deleted were placeholders. Some of these contracts were written to expire as far as 25 years out [6], a date Crypto Briefing describes as existing "mainly for regulatory reasons" [14]. I'd expect a settlement date that distant to matter little to anyone holding a position for days or months.
The clock is short. Relief took effect on June 12 and lapses on June 30 [1][11], 18 days in all [16], to rewrite contracts set to run up to 25 years [6]. Inside those 18 days each exchange must still file amendments under Regulation 40.5 or 40.6 certifying compliance [9], solicit market feedback and meet risk-disclosure obligations [10]. Staff waived the usual waiting period under 40.6 [7]. The filing itself remains.
The eligibility test is where the count could shrink. Only contracts on digital commodities with "deep, active, and continuous" spot markets qualify, with bitcoin the example cited [8]. Bitnomial's 16 and Coinbase Derivatives' 22 [4][5] are counts of contracts, and the published account does not list their underlying assets, so 38 [15] is a ceiling.
Both exchanges could file for all 38 before June 30, in which case the test was a formality. A narrower outcome has them filing for bitcoin and a few large assets and leaving the rest on long-dated expiries, the clustering Crypto Briefing expects [18]. Filings could also slip past the deadline; exchanges that miss the window may need the standard process instead, according to Crypto Briefing [17].
I'd expect the narrower outcome. The case against it is the sequence. The relief came after the two exchanges asked for it on the same day, each naming its contracts [5], and staff wrote the 18-day window with those requests in hand. Lists submitted that way were presumably drawn to pass. Amendment filings covering all 16 Bitnomial contracts and all 22 at Coinbase Derivatives would show the view is wrong.
What to watch
- Amendment filings from Bitnomial and Coinbase Derivatives under Regulations 40.5 and 40.6, and whether they cover all 16 and 22 contracts or only bitcoin and a few large assets.
- Whether any conversion is filed after June 30, 2026, and what process CFTC staff require for it.
- Whether other designated contract markets with long-dated perpetual-style contracts ask staff for the same relief.