CFTC no-action letter lets exchanges turn crypto futures into true perpetuals

The CFTC just gave US crypto derivatives a quiet but meaningful upgrade. On June 12, 2026, the agency’s Division of Market Oversight issued Staff Letter No. 26-19. The letter grants conditional no-action relief to designated contract markets, or DCMs. It lets them convert existing perpetual-style digital commodity futures into true perpetual futures by removing expiration dates entirely. What the CFTC actually approved A no-action letter is a promise from regulators’ staff not to recommend enforcement if a firm follows certain conditions. It is less a new rule and more a written assurance that a specific move won’t draw fire. The move here is simple to describe. Exchanges can delete the expiration date from qualifying futures contracts. The relief came after two exchanges asked for it. Bitnomial Exchange, LLC requested relief covering 16 contracts. Coinbase Derivatives, LLC asked on the same day for relief covering 22 contracts. Those products behaved like perpetuals but carried very distant expiration dates, with some running as far as 25 years out. The key benefit is speed. Ordinarily, changing contract terms can trigger the self-certification timing requirements under CFTC Regul...