US futures exchanges have a short window to turn long-dated stock-index futures into contracts that never expire. The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight said on 5 October it will not recommend enforcement if a designated contract market removes the expiry date from existing perpetual-style futures on broad-based security indices, as long as the exchange meets the conditions in staff letter 26-29.
The letter answers a 1 October request from Coinbase Derivatives. Coinbase had listed these contracts with expiries of up to 25 years because of uncertainty over how a true perpetual would be treated. Finance Magnates reported the relief the next morning. The no-action positions expire on 20 October 2026.
What the letter actually allows
- Only futures on broad-based security indices, the category that covers benchmarks such as the S&P 500. Single-stock and ETF perpetuals are not covered.
- The exchange can change nothing except the expiry date.
- Before it does, it has to ask traders with open positions about possible harm, give them at least five calendar days’ notice, and let them close out under the old terms.
- It still has to file the amendments under CFTC Regulations 40.5 or 40.6 and certify that it met every condition.
- Staff also said they will not seek a stay of those certifications, which is what normally adds 90 days of review.
Staff were explicit that changing an expiry on a contract with open interest can move the price, and that some holders can lose while others gain. The letter binds the Division of Market Oversight, not the Commission, and staff kept the right to modify or end the positions.
The sequence matters. On 2 October a Kalshi broad-based stock index perpetual was deemed approved. Finance Magnates notes the division treats that as confirmation these contracts are futures. Bitcoin perpetuals were cleared earlier, on 29 May. Energy perpetuals are still in a public-comment phase, which is a separate track from this index letter. Last week the CME pulled its filing for a 24/7 10-barrel crude contract, so the exchange calendar is moving in more than one direction at once.
For a prop trader this does not change Topstep, Apex, or Tradeify rules tomorrow. It does change the product set those firms might eventually list. A true index perpetual removes the roll. It also imports a funding payment, which is a different cost than the spread you pay rolling ES or NQ. If an exchange you trade through converts an open contract, the five-day notice is the part that matters: you get a window to exit under the old terms, and the price can move while you decide.
Our Take: This is a staff shortcut with a hard stop on 20 October, not a new market. Useful if Coinbase or another DCM actually files the amendments inside the window. Until one of them does, an index perpetual on a US exchange is still a permission slip, not a contract you can trade.
Sources & Evidence
- 🟢 Primary source: CFTC press release 9308-26 (5 Oct 2026)
- 🔵 Independent source: CFTC staff letter 26-29 (3 Oct 2026)
- 🔵 Independent source: Finance Magnates, 6 Oct 2026
- ⚪ Context: Relief is Division of Market Oversight staff no-action, not a Commission rule. It covers broad-based security index futures only and expires 20 October 2026.
