Cboe to Debut Continuous Bitcoin, Ethereum Futures for US Customers

Derivatives exchange Cboe plans to introduce continuous Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for U.S. customers in November, pending regulatory approval, it announced on Tuesday.

Futures typically expire every month but Cboe said these contracts will last 10 years to give investors “continuous long-term market” access to the two biggest digital coins by market cap. 

“Perpetual-style futures have gained strong adoption in offshore markets,” Catherine Clay, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe, said in a statement. 

Futures are contracts that allow investors to bet on the future price movements of an asset. Perpetual futures—futures without an expiration date—already trade in other countries. 

“Now, Cboe is bringing that same utility to our U.S.-regulated futures exchange and enabling U.S. traders to access these products with confidence in a trusted, transparent and intermediated environment,” the exchange said.

The exchange added that the contracts will be cash-settled and aligned to real-time spot market prices. 

Cboe has been active in the crypto exchange-traded fund space this year, filing for rule changes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow the listing of funds tracking the spot price of major altcoins. 

In July, Cboe BZX submitted its 19b-4 request for an Invesco Galaxy Solana ETF, advancing efforts to bring Solana into regulated U.S. markets. The ETF filing represents a joint venture between global asset manager Invesco and crypto-focused financial company Galaxy Digital. 

Cboe BZX, along with NYSE Arca, meanwhile, have both submitted separate proposals asking the SEC to fundamentally change how crypto ETFs get approved. 

The exchanges want certain products to list automatically without case-by-case regulatory review, bringing crypto ETF treatment in line with traditional asset classes.

Bitcoin was recently trading for $111,305, after dropping by the better part of a percentage point over a 24-hour period. Ethereum was roughly flat and priced at nearly $4,289, data from CoinGecko shows.