Cboe to Launch Long-term Bitcoin, Ether Futures on Dec 15

Key Highlights

• Cboe Global Markets exchange has announced its plan to launch new, long-term Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts
• Bitcoin Continuous Futures (PBT) and Cboe Ether Continuous Futures (PET) are expected to start trading on December 15, as they still require regulatory approval
• These future contracts will allow investors to gain long-term exposure to the two biggest cryptocurrencies

Cboe Global Markets has announced its plan to introduce new long-term futures contracts for the two biggest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The new products, named Cboe Bitcoin Continuous Futures (PBT) and Cboe Ether Continuous Futures (PET), are scheduled to begin on December 15, pending final approval from regulators. 

What are Cboe’s Bitcoin and Ether Continuous Futures?

These Continuous Futures are designed to help traders get long-term exposure to the two leading cryptocurrencies.  A main feature of these contracts is their 10-year expiration period at launch. They will also incorporate a daily cash adjustment mechanism. 

This kind of mechanism is capable of creating an exposure similar to perpetual futures. Meanwhile, it also removes the administrative burden as well as the cost linked with regularly rolling over short-term contracts. 

These new products are expected to come with the same advantages investors find in traditional futures markets. These benefits include better capital efficiency, tools for managing volatility, options for tactical trading, and the ability to enter short positions.

“As perpetual futures have historically been traded offshore, Cboe is excited to help expand access to these products within a U.S.-regulated, transparent, and intermediary-friendly environment,” Rob Hocking, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe, stated in a press release. 

“The structure of Cboe’s Continuous Futures is designed to enable streamlined and efficient portfolio and risk management, while providing investors a controlled way to gain some leveraged exposure to digital assets. We are excited to keep diversifying CFE’s offerings to meet growing customer demand, and equally focused on expanding our education efforts to help market participants understand the utility of these new futures,”  he said.

The pricing for these new Bitcoin and Ether futures will be directly linked to a specific benchmark. The PBT and PET contracts will use the Cboe Kaiko Real-Time Rate to track the live market price of their underlying cryptocurrencies. 

Also, there will be a daily cash adjustment applied to these futures contracts to maintain their value with the actual spot prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is known as a Funding Amount. It will be calculated daily for all open positions. 

Its main purpose is to maintain a price peg between the long-term futures contracts and the underlying cryptocurrencies.

“Bringing perpetual-style futures to U.S. regulated markets addresses a real need for institutional investors seeking efficient, long-term crypto exposure,” Anne-Claire Maurice, Managing Director of Derived Data at Kaiko, said. “These continuous futures eliminate the operational friction of rolling positions while maintaining the transparency and oversight that regulated markets provide. We’re pleased our real-time rates can support this innovation.”

Crypto Gains Wall Street Access Despite Downward Trend

In 2025, the cryptocurrency market witnessed an impressive adoption in the mainstream market. In a very short span, many major exchanges have expanded their offerings with new token listings, ETFs, and perpetual futures products. 

According to the latest announcement, Morgan Stanley is planning to provide direct access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for a selected group of its high-net-worth clients. This new service is expected to launch in the first half of 2026 and will be facilitated through the bank’s brokerage divisions. 

Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the launch of a new token sale platform on the Nasdaq exchange. It allows both U.S. retail and institutional investors to make purchases using the USDC stablecoin. 

Recently, Joseph Chalom, a former BlackRock executive and co-CEO of SharpLink, said that the Ethereum blockchain is the “infrastructure” for Wall Street.

In another development, Securitize, a digital assets company backed by asset management company BlackRock, has revealed its plans to become a publicly traded company. 

All in all, this year has proven to be fruitful for the crypto sector, thanks to positive developments on the regulatory side. Under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the community is finally getting regulatory clarity that ends long-standing ambiguity in the crypto market. Approval of the GENIUS Act after the U.S. President signed it into law is the biggest example, which is now uplifting the stablecoin market like never before.

However, the cryptocurrency market is currently facing an extreme downward trend, which has wiped out billions of dollars of liquidity from the cryptocurrency market. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is trading at around $92,100.61 with a 12.49% drop in a week, while Ethereum has declined below $3,100 with a 14.81% drop in a weekly chart.