The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight on Friday issued Staff Letter No. 26-19, granting conditional no-action relief to Bitnomial Exchange and Coinbase Derivatives to remove expiration dates from existing digital commodity perpetual-style futures contracts and convert them into true perpetual futures.
The relief takes immediate effect, bypassing the standard 10-business-day review period under Regulation 40.6. Coinbase’s request covered 22 contracts and Bitnomial’s covered 16.
Both exchanges had previously listed perpetual-style futures with long-dated expiry dates, up to 25 years in Bitnomial’s case, to satisfy earlier regulatory guidance on what constituted a futures contract. In practice, pricing on these contracts was driven by a funding-rate mechanism identical to that of a true perpetual, not by the distant expiry.
The Division attached eight conditions, including at least five calendar days’ notice to market participants with open positions, an opportunity to close out positions under existing terms, risk disclosures, and filing under Regulation 40.6 or 40.5. The relief expires June 30, 2026.
The letter follows the Commission’s May 29 order approving KalshiEX’s BTCPERP perpetual futures contract and a June 3 policy statement on the listing of perpetual contracts. Coinbase said in its request letter that any delay in conforming its contracts could “force unnecessary close-outs, rolls, or liquidity fragmentation.” Bitnomial said it had notified all customers and was unaware of any objections.
