Cboe Launches Continuous Bitcoin & Ether Futures

Summary

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Markets Outlook by CoinDesk

Episode: Cboe Launches Continuous Bitcoin & Ether Futures
Date: September 12, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the Chicago Board Options Exchange's (CBOE) announcement of "continuous" futures contracts for Bitcoin and Ether—products designed to replicate the experience and exposure of popular offshore perpetual futures, but within a regulated US framework. The conversation features Catherine Clay, CBOE's Global Head of Derivatives, who discusses product structure, market excitement (especially at the Robinhood Hood Summit), the evolving needs of retail and institutional market participants, and the road ahead for regulated digital assets.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. CBOE’s Vision for Digital Asset Markets

• CBOE aims to innovate within the regulated digital asset space, building market infrastructure that appeals to both retail and institutional players.
  • "We try to stay focused at CBOE about really building an ecosystem around digital assets… We do that through our ETF listings both in Bitcoin and ETH." — Catherine Clay [00:59]
• The exchange is preparing to launch continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures on November 10, pending regulatory approval.

2. Retail Energy & Takeaways from the Robinhood Hood Summit

• The announcement was made at Robinhood’s Hood Summit, a flagship event for retail traders.
  • "When you get a thousand of the most passionate, enthusiastic, educated and active retail traders in one location… it’s just electric." — Catherine Clay [01:56]
• Retail traders at the conference want 24/7 trading and access to diverse assets and products, especially as digital assets and prediction markets grow in popularity.

3. Institutional Needs and Market Health

• Institutions value liquidity, transparency, and market integrity.
  • "The healthiest marketplace is one that has a diverse set of participants… institutions want liquid and lit and high integrity markets." — Catherine Clay [03:11]
• CBOE’s strategy is to bridge retail and institutional demand, ensuring robust participation and reliable trading environments.

4. What Makes CBOE’s “Perpetual-Style” Futures Different

• Product Structure:
  • Contracts are long-dated (10 year expiry), cash-settled futures that mimic the risk/reward of perpetuals, but in a regulated format.
  • "You don’t need to roll them all that frequently because they’re not expiring like normal futures." — Catherine Clay [04:22]
• Benefits:
  • Provides a way to short crypto in a regulated market, which is difficult with spot crypto.
  • Designed for both long-term holders and active traders.

5. Pegging and Funding Mechanism

• CBOE will utilize a daily funding rate to track the future’s price to the spot market.
  • "Once a day we'll do… a true up of where the future is versus where the spot is trading… that funding mechanism is methodically applied." — Catherine Clay [05:18]

6. Regulatory Path & Timeline

• The team is targeting a November 10, 2025 launch, "pending regulatory final approval."
  • "We’re all good and ready to go. Just hopeful that we get that final [approval]." — Catherine Clay [05:50]

7. Capturing Retail Perpetuals Volume

• CBOE isn’t direct-to-client, working instead through brokers, FCMs, and intermediaries.
  • "We rely on our partners, the broker, dealers, FCMs, an intermediated model…" — Catherine Clay [06:20]
• Their aim is to ensure seamless integration into existing client platforms, acknowledging the regulatory and structural differences from offshore venues.

8. Expansion Beyond Bitcoin & Ether

• If successful, the methodology could extend to other tokens and even other asset classes.
  • "When we get regulatory approval, this methodology has application to additional products… Ripple, Solana, name your underlying token." — Catherine Clay [07:10]

9. Market Reception at the Hood Summit

• The announcement was met with excitement and anticipation from active traders, signaling strong expected demand.
  • "There was definitely sort of an uproar of excitement and like, you know, can’t wait to trade this." — Catherine Clay [07:40]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Building a Diverse Market Ecosystem:
  “Institutions want liquid and lit and high integrity markets... we focus on making sure [they] can get out of that position in a reasonable manner, with high integrity, a lot of transparent liquidity.” — Catherine Clay [03:11]

• On Retail Energy:
  “When you get a thousand of the most passionate, enthusiastic, educated and active retail traders in one location… it’s just electric.” — Catherine Clay [01:56]

• On Product Innovation:
  “We announced this week that we're heading into the perpetual world by bringing continuous digital futures in bitcoin and ether.” — Catherine Clay [01:15]

• On Regulatory Outlook:
  “We have November 10th as our aspirational date to launch... just hopeful that we get that final [approval].” — Catherine Clay [05:50]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:24 — Announcement of continuous Bitcoin & Ether futures; guest intro
• 01:56 — Highlights from Robinhood’s Hood Summit, retail trader priorities
• 03:11 — What institutions want from crypto markets
• 04:22 — Detailed breakdown of new perpetual-style futures contracts
• 05:18 — How daily funding rates peg futures to spot prices
• 06:20 — CBOE’s strategy to onboard retail flow via intermediaries
• 07:10 — Potential for expanding methodology to more tokens/asset classes
• 07:40 — Reaction at Hood Summit to the product announcement

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Tone & Language

The episode is insightful and forward-looking, balancing technical market details with the optimistic energy of industry change-makers. Catherine Clay brings an air of enthusiasm and credibility, projecting CBOE’s commitment to both innovation and robust market structure. The conversation is accessible while remaining substantive, targeting industry participants, institutional actors, and engaged retail audiences.

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For Listeners

This episode is a must-listen for anyone wanting future-focused insights on how core crypto market infrastructure is being built—and how regulated exchanges are working to serve both institutional and retail traders as digital assets mature in the US market landscape.

Transcript

[A]

You can imagine that when we get. I'm going to be optimistic here when we get regulatory approval. This methodology has application to additional products as well. You might think. Ripple, Solana, name your underlying token. This could be extensible to other digital assets. It could also be extensible to other types of assets as well.

[B]

CBO has announced continuous futures for Bitcoin and Ether. The futures will mimic offshore perpetual contracts, but will be structured as long dated cash settled products with a 10 year expiry. Joining us now for more on the products that will launch on November 10th pending regulatory approval, is global head of derivatives at CBOE, Catherine Clay.

[A]

Hey Catherine, it's so great to be here. Thank you for having me.

[B]

It's so awesome for you to be here too. I like to start this show with a very broad question for all of my guests and that is when it comes to the crypto markets, what have you been paying close attention to lately?

[A]

I mean, there's so much happening in this space right now, right? It's like daily there's something new that comes out that you have to pay attention to. We try to stay focused at CBOE about really building an ecosystem around digital assets. We do that through our ETF listings both in Bitcoin and eth. We do that in being the first ones to list index options on a basket of ETFs that we created. And we've always thought about how do we innovate into this new space in the futures area. So as you started this show in this segment. That's exactly right. We announced this week that we're heading into the perpetual world by bringing continuous digital futures in bitcoin and ether. November 10, still needing regulatory approval, as you also said.

[B]

I want to talk more about that in just a second, but I know that this announcement was made, I believe, at the Hood Summit. That's Robinhood's flagship retail trader conference and that concluded yesterday. Before we started talking here, you were telling me about what a vibe it was. I want to talk about some of your big takeaways from the conference.

[A]

It was really incredible. When you get a thousand of the most passionate, enthusiastic, educated and active retail traders in one location. I mean, it's just electric what they're interested in, what they were talking about. The unveil of new features on Robinhood for their client base was just extraordinary. So I left that conference feeling so energized, just being among the masses of really, really dedicated traders. And they trade digital assets, they trade traditional assets. They are really a knowledgeable base but it was just a fascinating, energizing, a great conference.

[B]

What are they interested in? What did they say they want?

[A]

Oh, they want 24, seven trading, they want access all the time and they want access to a bunch of different asset classes and products. So really they were talking about really moving more wholesomely into futures. They mentioned that they were adding CBO's index options in the overnight session, which we offer, and they were talking about things like prediction markets, things that are more on the cusp of the investing landscape. So it was just a wide variety of topics, but the themes were really clear. They wanted access all the time to as many products as possible.

[B]

On the other side of this conversation we have the institutions, which I know you collaborate very closely with. What are institutions asking for? I imagine the same thing.

[A]

We always believe, you know, and institutions think this too, that the healthiest marketplace is one that has a diverse set of participants and the retail segment is a huge part of that dynamic marketplace. And the institutions want liquid and lit and high integrity markets. And so I think that's what we focus on for institutions is making sure if they come in and they put on a position in whatever product we offer that they're able to get out of that position in a reasonable manner with high integrity, a lot of transparent liquidity. And those are the ecosystems that we really endeavor to build here at cbo. Sam.

[B]

Foreign let's talk about these perpetual style futures. They're coming to a regulated US market. Tell me about the products and what makes them fundamentally different from a regulatory and structural standpoint.

[A]

Yeah, so perpetual futures are really just a way for investors and traders to get exposure to basically the spot underlying Bitcoin or ether products in a levered and long term perpetual way. And so really when you think about maybe some of the difficulties of getting access to the spot crypto, these are actually just regulated futures that have, in our case a 10 year expiry on them, which really makes them a long term investing vehicle for investors. You don't need to roll them all that frequently because they're not expiring like normal futures. And so you can stay exposed to the asset class in a way that in the futures market is kind of not here in the US Before. I'd also say these are a method for people to short crypto, which is difficult to do from the spot perspective.

[B]

Talk to me a little bit about the funding rate. How are they maintaining the peg to the spot price and what does this mean for traders?

[A]

So we have a daily reconciliation to where the future is versus where the spot is trading. So once a day we'll do like an assessment, essence, a true up of where the future is versus the where the spot is trading. And so it would be once a day where that funding mechanism is methodically applied to the customer's accounts. It's very common in futures today. So it's really right within the infrastructure of the futures market.

[B]

I know you're waiting for regulatory approval and you probably can't say much about it, but what needs to happen for this to get across the line and be available for traders?

[A]

Yeah, I mean we have November 10th as our aspirational date, the launch that and we're ready to hit that date, Penny, the regulatory final approval. So we're all good and ready to go. Just hopeful that we get that final.

[B]

Okay, talk to me a little bit about the retail angle here. You know, a big portion of the offshore perpetuals volume is from retail traders. Talk to me about how you're planning to capture that flow from platforms known for high leverage and different user experiences. Talk to me about bringing those folks over to your platform.

[A]

Yeah, so CBOE is not a direct to client or direct to retail platform. We rely on our partners, the broker, dealers, FCMs, an intermediated model to our exchange to bring those clients, their clients to our exchange. So we work very closely with those participants to make sure that when we build these products it flows nicely with their middle and back office systems and then it's their choice to bring their clients to our exchange or not. But we do not go directly to the clients. We really work with the intermediators very closely to make sure this product fits their systems.

[B]

Now we started this conversation talking about the ecosystem that CBOE is building when it comes to digital assets. We're talking about Bitcoin and Ether now, but where are you looking outside of the product that you are already offering and the ones that you're awaiting regulatory approval on? Like this one?

[A]

Yeah, you can imagine that when we get. I'm going to be optimistic here. When we get regulatory approval, this methodology has application to additional products as well. You might think. Ripple, Solana, name your underlying token. This could be extensible to other digital assets. It could also be extensible to other types of assets as well. So you know, we, we're trying to just get these first two over the line and then I think you'll see us innovate quite quickly in this space.

[B]

Can you tell me a little bit about the reaction you had from folks when this was announced?

[A]

As I said, these, these traders want to trade, like so many things. And so when we announced this at the Hood Summit, I mean, there was definitely sort of an uproar of excitement and like, you know, can't wait to trade this. And coupled with the features that Robin has rolling out to their base, it just makes so much sense to the clients. And there was just so much enthusiasm for the product. So I expect it to be quite popular.

[B]

Kathy, thanks so much for joining the show today. You are welcome back anytime.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

We look forward to that date in November.

[A]

Thank you. Appreciate being on the show. Appreciate it.