In brief
- Cboe introduced “continues futures” for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- They are designed to mirror perpetual crypto futures.
- CME introduced “spot-quoted futures” in June.
Cboe Global Markets unveiled “continuous futures” for Bitcoin and Ethereum, describing them as familiar tools for crypto-native traders in a Monday press release.
The Chicago-based firm, which operates the largest options exchange in the U.S, said the derivatives will resemble perpetual-style futures through a 10-year lifecycle and daily cash adjustment, when they begin trading next month.
In a statement, Cboe Global Head of Derivatives Rob Hocking said the offering is aimed at tapping into a part of the market over which U.S. regulators have little oversight.
“As perpetual futures have historically been traded offshore, Cboe is excited to help expand access to these products within a U.S.-regulated, transparent, and intermediary-friendly environment,” he said, while pointing to “growing customer demand.”
For years, traders have tapped centralized crypto exchanges like Binance and Bybit to trade derivatives that don’t have an expiration date. However, Hyperliquid and Aster are among decentralized alternatives that gained traction earlier this year.
CME Group, a leading futures exchange, introduced “spot quoted futures” in April. Those derivatives also offer exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and they can be held for up to five years without requiring traders to roll their positions.
Traditionally, futures contracts carry a specific expiry date, either on a monthly or quarterly basis, after which they must be settled. If traders want to maintain their exposure, they have to close an expiring contract and open a new one with a later expiration date.
Perpetual futures allow a trader to speculate on an asset indefinitely, and their prices are anchored to their underlying asset through periodic payments, or a so-called funding rate.
On Monday, the value of all outstanding Bitcoin futures contracts totaled $65.8 billion, according to crypto data provider CoinGlass. CME was responsible for $13 billion worth of futures contracts, followed by Binance at $12.5 billion. Hyperliquid stood at $3 billion.
Cboe’s latest derivatives tap crypto analytics firm Kaiko for underlying price data. In a statement, Anne-Claire Maurice, Kaiko’s managing director of derived data, said the products are set to address “a real need for institutional investors.”
“These continuous futures eliminate the operational friction of rolling positions while maintaining the transparency and oversight that regulated markets provide,” she said.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
