On May 29, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took a series of coordinated actions to establish a domestic regulatory framework for perpetual contracts on digital commodities.

Today, the CFTC: (1) approved KalshiEX LLC's bitcoin perpetual futures contract (BTCPERP), (2) issued a policy statement addressing the listing of perpetual contracts by other exchanges, (3) published a staff advisory on 24/7 trading and clearing operations, and (4) released an interpretive letter and no-action position for Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. (CFM) regarding the treatment of Deribit perpetuals as foreign futures.

Approval of Kalshi's BTCPERP Futures Contract (Order)

  • The CFTC approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP Contract, a cash-settled perpetual derivative referencing the spot price of Bitcoin via the CF Benchmarks Bitcoin Real Time Index.
  • The CFTC accepted Kalshi’s analysis that the BTCPERP should be categorized as a “futures contract.”
  • The CFTC focused on the fact that Bitcoin’s deep, broadly distributed, active, and continuous spot market supports the effective functioning of the contract’s funding rate convergence mechanism, making it less susceptible to manipulation.

Policy Statement on Listing Perpetual Contracts

  • The CFTC issued a policy statement encouraging Designated Contract Markets (DCMs)that wish to list perpetual contracts referencing asset classes not covered by the Order (e.g., agricultural products, precious metals, equity securities, narrow-based security indexes) to voluntarily submit those contracts for Commission review and approval under Regulation 40.3.
  • The CFTC emphasized that perpetual contracts raise novel questions regarding market structure, customer protection, resilience during stress, and consistency with DCM Core Principles, and that the Regulation 40.3 review process promotes transparency, facilitates engagement, and provides greater regulatory clarity.

Staff Advisory on 24/7 Trading and Clearing (CFTC Letter No. 26-16)

  • CFTC staff issued an advisory outlining expectations for DCMs, Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs), Derivatives Clearing Organizations (DCOs), and Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) seeking to extend trading and/or clearing operations to a 24/7 basis.
  • Staff noted that derivatives referencing crypto assets may be well-suited for 24/7 trading due to digital infrastructure and global reach, while other markets (e.g., agricultural products) may be less suited given their regional nature and specialized trading practices.
  • The advisory addresses key areas, including: settlement process risks during off-peak periods; real-time monitoring and market surveillance; system safeguards and business continuity; compliance staffing around the clock; clearing, margining, and collateral challenges (especially during weekends/holidays); and FCM segregation, risk management, and customer disclosure obligations.
  • Staff strongly recommends that any entity considering 24/7 operations engage with CFTC staff in advance.

Interpretive Letter and No-Action Position for Coinbase/Deribit (CFTC Letter No. 26-17)

  • The CFTC’s Market Participants Division confirmed that perpetual contracts traded on Deribit FZE (Deribit Perpetuals) may be categorized as “foreign futures” under Regulation 30.1, allowing CFM to offer U.S. customers access to these products through Deribit, an affiliated foreign board of trade regulated by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
  • The interpretation is limited to perpetual contracts structured similarly to the Deribit Perpetuals and based on digital commodities with deep, active, and continuous spot market trading.

Key Takeaways

These four actions, taken together, signal the CFTC’s clear intent to bring perpetual contract trading into the regulated U.S. derivatives framework in a measured, product-by-product manner. The approval of Kalshi's BTCPERP and the Coinbase/Deribit interpretive letter establishes that perpetual contracts on digital commodities with sufficiently deep and liquid spot markets can be treated as futures contracts, both domestically and on foreign boards of trade. Market participants considering listing, clearing, or intermediating perpetual contracts or extending to 24/7 operations should engage early with CFTC staff and carefully assess the operational and compliance implications of these new guidance documents.