CFTC clears path for stock-linked perpetual futures

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has cleared stock-linked perpetual futures for trading on qualifying U.S. exchanges, opening a path for the contracts to enter regulated domestic markets. Chairman Michael Selig said the products were deemed approved under CFTC Regulation 40.3 and could be offered on exchanges registered with both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The contracts, also called equity perps, are classified as security futures products under a framework based on the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, according to the CFTC. The approval establishes a regulatory route for the instruments, but does not itself confirm that trading has started. Selig did not identify which exchanges would list the contracts or when trading would begin. The announcement also did not specify which individual stocks would be eligible. Exchange listings and product details would determine what traders can access under the authorization. Perpetual futures let traders take positions on an asset’s price without owning the asset or facing a set expiration date. The structure became popular in cryptocurrency markets, where it has often been offered by offshore...