CFTC Extends Comment Period on 24/7 Crypto Derivatives Trading to August 26

Regulators just gave themselves an extra month to figure out what round-the-clock crypto derivatives trading should actually look like.

The CFTC extended the public comment deadline on its proposal to expand standard futures contracts to a 24/7 trading schedule by 30 days, pushing the new deadline to August 26, 2026. The same request also covers listing perpetual contracts referencing physically delivered or storable energy commodities — a notably crypto-native product structure being considered for traditional markets.

Separately, the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight issued an advisory reminding designated contract markets that self-certifications for event contract series need to be specific, not broad template-style filings — a signal regulators are watching how exchanges structure new product launches more closely.

The Division also issued a time-limited no-action letter to a designated contract market affiliated with a digital asset exchange, addressing procedures around contract dormancy — a narrower, more technical move, but one more data point showing regulators actively working through digital-asset-adjacent market structure questions in real time.

None of this is a final rule yet — it’s still the comment and advisory stage — but the direction is clear: traditional derivatives infrastructure is being reshaped around ideas (perpetuals, 24/7 markets) that crypto exchanges have run for years.

Curious how crypto derivatives differ from traditional futures? Read the Bitcoin Academy.