Cboe considers converting bitcoin and ether futures to perpetual contracts

Cboe Global Markets is weighing whether to convert its existing Bitcoin and Ether continuous futures contracts into full-blown perpetual futures, a move that would bring one of the most popular crypto-native trading instruments into the heart of traditional US finance.

The potential conversion was flagged on June 23 by Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, and represents a natural evolution of products Cboe only launched six months ago.

From continuous to perpetual: what’s actually changing

Cboe already offers something that looks and feels a lot like perpetual futures. Its Continuous Futures contracts, ticker symbols PBT for Bitcoin and PET for Ether, launched on December 15, 2025, with a clever workaround. They carry 10-year expiration terms and use daily cash adjustment mechanisms to mimic the behavior of perpetual contracts, all within a regulated US framework.

These contracts reference Cboe Kaiko Bitcoin and Ether Real-Time Rates, giving them a pricing backbone tied to real-time market data rather than lagging index values. The daily cash adjustments serve the same function as the funding rate mechanism used in offshore perpetuals, ensuring the contract price doesn’t drift too far from the underlying asset.

Now Cboe appears ready to drop the workaround and just offer the real thing. Converting from continuous to true perpetual futures would eliminate the 10-year expiration entirely, creating contracts that never expire and settle continuously.

The regulatory window is open

Cboe’s timing here is not accidental. The CFTC approved Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual futures contract in late May 2026, cracking open a door that the industry had been pushing against for years. That approval effectively established a regulatory precedent: perpetual futures, a product category that regulators had long viewed with suspicion, can exist within the US derivatives framework.

Before Kalshi’s approval, every major perpetual futures market operated offshore, on platforms like Binance, Bybit, and dYdX. US-regulated exchanges were locked out of the game, forced to offer traditional dated futures that require periodic rollovers.

Cboe’s September 2025 announcement that it planned to adapt offshore perpetual futures features into a regulated US environment was the first real shot across the bow. The December launch of Continuous Futures was the execution. And now, the consideration to convert those products into true perpetuals is the logical next step, one made possible by the shifting regulatory landscape.

What this means for investors

If Cboe successfully converts its continuous futures to perpetuals, it could pull meaningful trading volume onshore. Institutional players, particularly those with compliance mandates that prevent them from touching offshore venues, would finally have access to the same product structure that retail and crypto-native traders have used for years.

The competitive dynamics are also worth watching. Kalshi already has its CFTC-approved Bitcoin perpetual. If Cboe converts both its Bitcoin and Ether products, it would offer a broader suite. Other major US exchanges, including CME Group, will face pressure to respond, as a proliferation of regulated perpetuals could erode CME’s position in the institutional crypto futures market over time.

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