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CFTC clears equity perpetual futures to trade in the U.S. for the first time

November 3, 2026·3 min readSourced · no paid placements

Perpetual futures contracts tied to individual stocks can begin trading on U.S.-regulated exchanges for the first time, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig announced in a statement dated November 3, 2026 (CFTC press release 9319-26).

The products — which the chairman calls "Equity Perps" — may trade on designated contract markets that are also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as notice-registered national securities exchanges cleared to trade security futures products. In other words, a venue needs dual CFTC/SEC standing before listing them.

Perpetual futures are derivatives without an expiry date, long common on offshore crypto venues. Selig framed the move as pulling that activity onshore: bringing the products "into our regulated markets ensures that American investors and traders can access these products within the protections of the CFTC's proven regulatory framework, rather than being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues."

Selig tied the clearance to existing authority rather than new rulemaking, citing the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the CFTC–SEC Memorandum of Understanding as the foundation. He said the two agencies had ended an era in which products like security futures sat in what SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins described as a regulatory "no man's land," and pledged "a clear path to market, rather than more casualties of jurisdictional disputes."

Key facts

  • Equity perpetual futures on individual stocks "can begin trading for the first time" on U.S. exchanges, per Chairman Selig's statement (CFTC release 9319-26, Nov. 3, 2026).
  • Eligible venues must be designated contract markets that are also SEC notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures products (CFTC).
  • Selig cited the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the CFTC–SEC MOU as the legal basis; no new rule is referenced (CFTC).
  • The statement quotes SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins's "no man's land" characterization of prior regulatory uncertainty (CFTC).

The real-world read

This is a chairman's statement, not a rule or an order — the CFTC says these contracts can trade, but names no exchange that has listed one, no contract specs, no launch date, and no first-mover. "Can begin" is a green light, not a trade. The statement is also doing promotional work: it frames the decision as rescuing investors from "offshore, often unregulated venues," the standard argument for onshoring crypto-style products, without detailing the investor protections — margin, position limits, clearing — that will actually apply to a never-expiring, leveraged bet on a single stock. Those mechanics aren't disclosed here. Note too that this is the regulator describing its own action; how it works in practice depends on filings and listings that haven't appeared yet. We found no corroborating primary document — exchange filing or SEC companion release — beyond the CFTC's own announcement.

This is news coverage, not financial or investment advice.

Sources

  • CFTC, Press Release 9319-26, "CFTC Chairman Selig Releases Statement on Equity Perpetual Futures" (Nov. 3, 2026) — primary source; provided the announcement, Chairman Selig's quoted statement, the dual-registration requirement, and the cited legal basis. An official regulator statement, not sponsored material; it is the interested party describing its own policy action.