Key facts
- Perpetual futures, a financial instrument without a set expiry date, have gained significant traction in recent years.
- The concept of perpetual futures was first developed academically by Robert Schiller in the early 1990s.
- BitMEX was instrumental in operationalizing perpetual futures for cryptocurrency markets starting in 2016.
- The CME initiated legal action against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this year, challenging the legal status of perpetual futures in the United States.
Perpetual futures, a financial instrument characterized by the absence of a fixed expiry date, have evolved from an academic concept developed by Robert Schiller in the early 1990s to a prominent feature in modern financial markets. Their operationalization for cryptocurrency markets by BitMEX in 2016 marked a significant step in their recent rise to prominence. This year, perpetual futures garnered significant attention when the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) filed a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), seeking to clarify their legal standing within the United States. The absence of a traditional expiry date in perpetual futures contracts necessitates robust governance mechanisms to ensure market stability and integrity.