CBOE weighs converting Bitcoin, Ether futures to perpetuals

The Chicago Board Options Exchange is exploring converting its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures into perpetual contracts, Rob Hocking, CBOE’s global head of derivatives, confirmed. The consideration follows the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approving cryptocurrency perpetual futures for Kalshi and outlining a regulatory pathway for other registered U.S. exchanges.

Hocking said the exchange is exploring the conversion but declined to provide a timeline or detail how pricing, liquidity or risk management would be handled. CBOE launched its continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures in December, offering contracts with expirations that extend up to a decade.

Perpetual futures have no set expiration date, allowing traders to hold leveraged positions indefinitely. They use periodic funding payments between long and short holders to keep contract prices close to the underlying asset. The contract type became widespread on crypto derivatives platforms and is now a dominant product in many centralized and decentralized trading venues.

Regulatory changes in the U.S. have increased interest in perpetuals. Kalshi’s cryptocurrency perpetuals recorded more than $8.5 billion in trading volume within weeks of launch. Earlier this month the Chicago Mercantile Exchange filed a lawsuit against the CFTC, arguing that permitting Kalshi to list perpetuals violates federal law and has caused competitive harm to incumbent exchanges.

Perpetual contracts have expanded beyond crypto. Coinbase launched perpetual futures tied to stock indexes for eligible U.S. traders and previously rolled out 24/7 futures on U.S.-listed stocks for non-U.S. customers. Decentralized exchanges processed more than $22.5 billion in perpetual futures volume in a 24-hour period and about $663 billion over the prior 30 days, with one venue accounting for a large share of that activity.

Market mechanics for perpetuals can affect leverage and counterparty exposure. Funding payments that align perp prices with spot can amplify short-term trading flows. Regulators and market participants have noted that large volumes on perpetual markets have at times coincided with higher volatility in the underlying assets.

CBOE has not announced a timetable for any decision. If the exchange proceeds with a conversion, it would add a major U.S.-regulated venue to the market for perpetual futures and expand options available to traders.