The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has cleared the way for perpetual futures tied to individual stocks to trade on registered U.S. exchanges, extending a defining feature of cryptocurrency markets into traditional equities and bringing offshore trading activity under American supervision.

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The agency said Tuesday (Nov. 3) that equity perpetual futures can begin trading on CFTC-registered exchanges, Decrypt reported. The development gives regulated U.S. markets a route to offer leveraged stock exposure through contracts without expiration dates, a structure long associated with offshore crypto platforms.

The move also illustrates how cooperation between the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is helping accommodate products that cross the traditional boundaries between securities and derivatives regulation. The contracts come under both agencies’ oversights, rather than occupying the regulatory “no man’s land” that SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has described.

Perpetual futures track an underlying asset’s price but do not expire. Traders can maintain leveraged positions indefinitely, provided they meet applicable margin and funding requirements. That differs from conventional futures, which have expiration dates, requiring traders to seek continuing exposure to replace expiring contracts.

Applied to individual stocks, the perpetual structure carries a familiar crypto trading mechanism into the equity market. Investors gain exposure to a stock’s price through a derivative contract. The regulatory significance lies in allowing that product within supervised domestic venues, with the obligations and protections that accompany them.

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