CFTC Staff Give DCMs a Path to Convert Perpetual-Style Digital Commodity Futures Into True Perpetuals

1. 3. 5. CFTC staff issued release 9252-26 on Friday, giving designated contract markets a no-action path to convert existing perpetual-style digital commodity futures into true perpetuals, advancing the agency's buildout of a regulated US crypto derivatives market. By:• 0 hours ago Regulation & Politics CFTC staff issued a Friday enabling designated contract markets to convert existing perpetual-style digital commodity futures into true perpetual futures, the latest piece of regulatory plumbing in the agency's construction of a domestic crypto derivatives market. The letter, release 9252-26, was . It allows DCMs holding perpetual-style contracts, which carry multi-year expiry dates rather than an open-ended structure, to relist them as true perpetuals without triggering full re-certification under Regulation 40.3. Perpetual-style futures, the workaround US venues had used since at least December 2025, mimic that economic function through a long-dated cash-settled contract, usually with a 10-year maturity and a daily funding adjustment. DCMs can now submit conversion plans without going through the full 40.3 case-by-case review that the CFTC's May 29 prescribed for new perpetual listings on asset classes beyond bitcoin.