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Cboe Global Markets is preparing to enter new territory in digital asset derivatives with the introduction of its first long-term Bitcoin and Ether “Continuous Futures,” a contract designed to mirror the economic exposure of crypto perpetual futures while operating fully inside a regulated U.S. framework. The rollout represents one of the most ambitious steps yet by a major American exchange to bridge the gap between offshore perpetual products and domestic derivatives markets.
Pending final regulatory approval, trading is scheduled to begin on December 15. The products are positioned to give investors the ability to maintain multi-year exposure to Bitcoin and Ether without constantly managing expiring contracts — a key limitation that institutional traders have long identified in crypto futures offered in the United States.
What makes Cboe’s continuous futures different?
Continuous futures will carry a 10-year duration, an extremely long tenor by industry standards. The instruments will include a daily cash adjustment mechanism intended to closely reflect price movements and funding dynamics normally seen in perpetual futures.
Unlike traditional quarterly futures, which require the manual rolling of positions from one expiry to the next, continuous futures are structured to maintain uninterrupted exposure. This removes operational burden for trading desks and reduces transaction overhead for funds that want a longer-timeframe position in Bitcoin or Ether.
Cboe says the structure aims to replicate the capital efficiency, directional exposure, and hedging characteristics of perpetual futures while retaining the oversight, risk controls, and transparency expected of U.S. exchanges.
Both contracts will clear through Cboe Clear US, minimizing counterparty risk via centralized clearing. Margining will align with rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Cboe has indicated that cross-margining with existing CFE crypto futures may be possible in the future, improving capital efficiency for professional traders.
Trading hours are expected to mirror the schedule used by other Cboe Futures Exchange products: 23 hours per day, five days a week.
A major step in the evolution of U.S. crypto derivatives
Cboe first revealed its continuous futures strategy in September as part of a wider expansion of its digital asset derivatives offerings. The exchange operator — which maintains equities and derivatives platforms across North America, Europe, and Asia — has consistently emphasized that crypto futures are central to its long-term growth plan.
This rollout aligns with a notable shift in the regulatory climate in the United States. For years, officials expressed concerns about perpetual products due to leverage levels, market stability, and consumer protection. Many structures widely available on offshore exchanges remained prohibited in the U.S. despite heavy demand.
However, the regulatory mindset has begun to change. Under the Trump administration, digital asset market development has become a visible financial policy priority. In April, the CFTC took a historic step by formally requesting public input on both the benefits and risks of perpetual futures — a first in U.S. history.
That consultation asked market participants how perpetuals operate in practice, how they might fit within domestic trading and clearing systems, and what protections should be required to support them. Market observers widely interpreted the request as a sign that regulators may finally be preparing to support a regulated, controlled version of the world’s most traded crypto derivative.
Institutional demand is building
The shift in policy has come alongside another trend: rising institutional appetite for derivatives tied to digital assets.
• In March, Bitnomial became the first U.S. exchange to offer CFTC-regulated XRP futures, expanding the pool of available crypto commodities. • In July, Coinbase revealed plans to offer nano-Bitcoin and nano-Ether perpetual contracts, modeled after the micro-sized derivatives popular in equity markets.
These moves demonstrate a growing race among regulated venues to serve hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, quantitative desks, and asset managers looking for highly efficient exposure to crypto without moving offshore.
A massive market that U.S. venues want to participate in
The potential addressable market is enormous. As of the most recent data, open interest on global perpetual futures reached roughly $766.95 billion, underscoring how deeply derivatives shape crypto price discovery and liquidity.
Perpetual futures dominate trading volume across major offshore exchanges and are widely viewed as the backbone of the crypto derivatives ecosystem. Their influence often exceeds that of spot markets.
Cboe’s continuous futures will not perfectly mirror offshore perpetual futures due to regulatory constraints — leverage remains limited and risk safeguards are mandatory. However, the 10-year tenor plus the daily economic adjustment is designed to provide an experience that institutional traders can map to their existing derivatives strategies.
Why this rollout matters to professional traders
Hedge funds and trading firms typically need:
• long-duration exposure • capital-efficient hedging • the ability to go short • risk controls and clearing protections
Until now, they have often needed to use offshore exchanges or manage repeated futures rolls to achieve these objectives. Continuous futures aim to remove that friction point while keeping the activity entirely within a supervised trading environment.
If institutional demand materializes quickly, this move could position Cboe as a central participant in the next phase of U.S. crypto derivatives.
All eyes on regulatory approval — and institutional response
The final question is how decisively regulated investors will embrace the structure once trading begins. Approval from the CFTC remains the final step before the Dec. 15 start date. If green-lit, the market will be watching volumes, open interest, and liquidity to gauge how fast adoption accelerates.
Cboe’s approach blends two worlds:
• the long-term design of traditional futures • the economic behavior of perpetual futures
That combination may prove timely as institutional investors increasingly seek exposure to Bitcoin and Ether within the guardrails of U.S. financial law.
