The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has opened a public consultation on two potential changes that could reshape energy derivatives markets: allowing standard futures contracts to trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and evaluating a regulatory framework for perpetual contracts linked to physically delivered or storable commodities, including crude oil. According to remarks from CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on June 22, the agency will collect comments for 30 days after the request is published in the Federal Register.
Two proposals under review
The first proposal asks whether standard futures contracts should move to continuous trading without changing their expiration dates, delivery terms, or other core contract features. The review specifically covers energy futures that currently trade within established market hours.
The second proposal centers on perpetual contracts. Unlike traditional futures, perpetuals do not expire and can remain open indefinitely. While that structure is familiar in digital asset markets, applying it to physical commodities introduces a very different set of operational and regulatory issues.
After Bitcoin perpetual futures, attention shifts to commodities
The consultation comes after the CFTC approved Bitcoin perpetual futures in May 2026 and issued guidance explaining how perpetual products should be reviewed. Even so, the Commission has signaled that contracts tied to physical commodities require additional scrutiny under existing rules, meaning energy perpetuals would not follow the same path as digital commodity products.
Selig said the Commission wants a clear, data-driven record before judging the effects of these developments. He also stressed that the agency aims to support innovation while maintaining protections against manipulation and broader market disruption.
Why oil perpetuals are more complex
For energy markets, a perpetual structure is not simply a copy-and-paste from crypto. Crude oil and similar commodities involve storage costs, transport infrastructure, delivery obligations, and physical settlement requirements. Those factors make pricing, settlement, and risk management fundamentally different from digital asset markets.
As noted in the source material’s cited legal analysis, contracts that settle during off-peak market hours may face a greater risk of price distortion. That concern becomes especially important if energy futures were to move toward round-the-clock trading, because regulators would need to reassess whether current settlement, margin, surveillance, and delivery systems remain effective.
Industry feedback expected across markets
The comment process is likely to draw responses from exchanges, brokers, clearinghouses, commercial hedgers, energy traders, and crypto market participants. The CFTC will use those submissions to evaluate whether continuous trading and perpetual structures can operate alongside existing delivery, settlement, margin, and market surveillance requirements in energy markets.
At this stage, the agency is not endorsing energy perpetuals outright. Instead, it is testing the regulatory and operational boundaries before any broader market shift. If the review advances, U.S. commodity markets could eventually see major changes in trading hours and contract design, but only if regulators are satisfied that market integrity and risk controls can be preserved.