CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said on November 3 that perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities can now begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges that are also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures products.
In a statement, Selig described the move as a significant expansion of the products available inside the US regulated framework. He noted that perpetual futures have become widely used tools for risk management and price discovery elsewhere, and that bringing equity versions onto dual-registered US platforms should give American participants access to the same advantages without having to rely on offshore venues.
“This expansion marks a significant step towards allowing U.S. market participants, consistent with applicable law, to avail themselves of the advantages of perpetual futures,” Selig said. He added that the products should now sit inside the CFTC’s existing regulatory structure rather than remaining outside it.
How CFTC and SEC Coordination Opens Equity Perpetual Futures
The statement frames the development as the result of closer coordination between the CFTC and the SEC. Selig referenced the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the agencies’ memorandum of understanding, and he echoed SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins’s earlier description of certain innovative products as having been left in a regulatory “no man’s land” by jurisdictional friction. He said both agencies have now moved past that period and are focused on providing clearer routes to market for new instruments.
Equity perpetual futures have been a feature of crypto-native and offshore platforms for several years. Their appearance on dual-registered US exchanges represents one of the more concrete outcomes so far of the current push for CFTC-SEC harmonisation on security-related futures products.
The statement does not name specific exchanges that have listed or plan to list the contracts, nor does it provide a timetable beyond the announcement that trading can now begin. Further details on available contracts and participating platforms are expected to emerge from the designated contract markets themselves.
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Andrew Samu
Andrew Samu, Editor-at-Large at Disruption Banking, shapes the publication’s global coverage of banking, capital markets and digital assets. Based at London’s Level39, he combines market analysis with a strong commercial perspective, informed in part by his role as Commercial Director at Verita HR.
