Cboe Global Markets has unveiled one of the most significant institutional crypto developments of the year: the launch of Cboe Bitcoin Continuous Futures (PBT) and Cboe Ether Continuous Futures (PET) on December 15, 2025, pending regulatory review. The products will trade on the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) and mark the first time U.S. investors gain access to perpetual-style crypto futures in a fully regulated domestic market.
What Are “Continuous Futures”?
Cboe’s new contracts introduce a long-awaited structure for institutional traders, 10-year futures with daily cash adjustments, designed to mimic the perpetual futures widely traded on offshore exchanges but without the need to roll positions every month.
Key features include:
- 10-year expiration at listing
- Daily cash adjustment (“Funding Amount”) to maintain price alignment
- Cash-settled, no physical delivery
- Centrally cleared through Cboe Clear U.S.
- Compliant with CFTC margin and risk rules
This hybrid model gives investors perpetual exposure with traditional futures-market protections, addressing a major gap in the U.S. derivatives landscape.
Why This Matters
Perpetual futures dominate crypto trading globally but have historically been available only through offshore venues. Their absence in U.S. markets has restricted institutional hedging strategies and limited long-term positioning for regulated entities.
Cboe’s rollout resolves that gap.
“Cboe is excited to expand access to these products within a U.S.-regulated, transparent, and intermediary-friendly environment,” said Rob Hocking, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe.
He emphasized that Continuous Futures provide efficient portfolio management, enhanced risk controls, and a controlled method of gaining leveraged exposure.
Kaiko Rates Will Power the Contracts
The PBT and PET contracts will use the Cboe Kaiko Real-Time Rate, allowing pricing to reflect high-quality aggregated market data.
Anne-Claire Maurice of Kaiko highlighted that the offering meets a “real institutional need” for long-term exposure without operational friction.
Risk Management and Clearing
All contracts will clear through Cboe Clear U.S., reducing counterparty risk and enabling cross-margining with other CFE products, including:
- Financially Settled Bitcoin Futures (FBT)
- Financially Settled Ether Futures (FET)
This integration increases capital efficiency for institutions running multi-asset strategies.
Why Institutions Will Care
For traditional firms, these products offer:
- Long-term exposure without roll costs
- Regulatory clarity within a CFTC-supervised environment
- Transparent margin rules
- Cash settlement with robust clearing infrastructure
The launch also signals growing momentum for U.S.-based derivatives innovation, bridging the gap between offshore perpetual futures and regulated financial markets.
Big Picture
With ETF flows slowing and macro uncertainty rising, demand for more sophisticated hedging tools has increased sharply. Cboe’s new Continuous Futures arrive at a pivotal moment and could quickly become a core instrument for institutional crypto trading strategies across 2026 and beyond.
