CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig announced on November 3 that perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges. Selig framed the move as a regulated US alternative to offshore venues.
What the CFTC decided
According to the CFTC release, the so-called Equity Perps can be listed on designated contract markets (DCMs) that are dually registered: with the CFTC, and with the SEC as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures products.
The conditions in short:
- Product: perpetual futures on individual stocks
- Venue: only DCMs dually registered with the CFTC and the SEC
- Framework: the security futures products regime
- Start: trading can begin from November 3, 2026
- Form: a statement by the CFTC chairman, published as release 9319-26
Selig's case
Selig called the expansion "a significant step" toward letting US market participants, "consistent with applicable law," use the advantages of perpetual futures.
He described perpetuals as "widely sought tools for risk-management and price-discovery" and said bringing them into regulated markets lets American investors and traders access them "within the protections of the CFTC's proven regulatory framework".
The alternative, in his words, was traders "being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues".
The legal basis
The decision rests on two documents: the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the CFTC-SEC Memorandum of Understanding.
Selig said that "for too long, regulatory uncertainty left innovative products, such as security futures and equity perpetual futures, stranded" in what SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins has called a regulatory "no man's land", due to a lack of harmonization between the two agencies.
CFTC-SEC harmonization
Selig said the two agencies "have turned the page on that era" and are committed to regulatory clarity for innovative products and "a clear path to market, rather than more casualties of jurisdictional disputes".
What it means for you
If you trade stock perpetuals on offshore platforms, there is now a regulated US alternative, but only on exchanges that hold both registrations. A venue must be a DCM with the CFTC and, at the same time, a notice-registered national securities exchange with the SEC.
The release does not name the exchanges that will list the first contracts and does not specify which stocks are covered.