Perpetual futures tied to individual stocks can now trade for the first time on qualifying US exchanges, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said on November 3.
The announcement applies to CFTC-designated contract markets that are also notice-registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as national securities exchanges to trade security futures. It is not a blanket authorization for every brokerage or crypto exchange.
The format will be familiar to traders in bitcoin perpetuals. Unlike a conventional dated futures contract, a perpetual has no preset expiry. When the underlying asset is a stock, the contract gives the holder exposure to its price rather than ownership of the shares or shareholder voting rights.