CFTC to host industry roundtable on 24/7 derivatives trading on 15 December

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will host an industry roundtable on 15 December to discuss “the viability of derivatives markets moving to 24/7 trading”, the agency said on 28 October.

According to the release, the roundtable will cover “overnight trading, tokenization, infrastructure and staffing needs, and operational readiness”. It will take place at the CFTC’s headquarters in Washington, be open to the public and be livestreamed on CFTC.gov. The agenda, speakers and registration details will be published later. In-person places may be limited, and visitors will be subject to security checks. The release does not give a start time. The CFTC is inviting speaker nominations at [email protected].

“I have been consistently clear: under my leadership, the CFTC will not take a one‑size‑fits‑all approach to 24/7 trading,” Chairman Michael S. Selig said. He said the agency wanted “to hear directly from industry on their views for 24/7 trading across different asset classes”.

What came before

The CFTC says the roundtable “will build upon” its request for comment on 24/7 trading. That request, announced on 22 June and published in the Federal Register on 25 June, asked two sets of questions: on extending standard futures contracts, including energy futures, to a 24/7 schedule, and on perpetual contracts referencing physically delivered or storable energy commodities.

On 23 July the CFTC extended the comment period to 26 August and added questions. The extension notice asked for comment on a 10-barrel WTI crude oil futures contract that NYMEX self-certified on 8 July, designed to trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for limited maintenance windows. According to the notice, the CFTC stayed the listing on 9 July. In its 9 July release the CFTC said it was staying the listing under Regulation 40.2(c), and that it would review a separate CME filing for the contract under its Regulation 40.3 approval process. The notice says the stay was to examine whether continuous trading is consistent with the core principles for designated contract markets, “including with the reliability and manipulation-resistance of reference prices and with a contract market’s capacity to surveil trading”, particularly for physically delivered commodities whose cash markets are assessed only at set times.

The extension notice also asked firms that are not ready for 24/7 crude oil futures to identify “the concrete steps, investments, and system, staffing, or process changes” needed, and how long each would take.

The 28 October release does not mention the NYMEX contract, perpetual contracts or the comments received, and it does not say whether the CFTC plans to propose rules. The CFTC has published no update on the stay in its press releases since the 23 July notice, so its current status is not confirmed; the position described here is as set out in the 9 July release and the 23 July notice.

Why it matters

For futures commission merchants, clearing houses and trading firms, 24/7 trading is mostly about what happens away from the matching engine: margin calls and collateral movements at weekends, default management when banks and payment systems are shut, surveillance staffing, and how settlement prices are set when the underlying cash market is closed. The CFTC’s own questions cover margin, clearing and settlement, customer protection and position limits.

The topics listed for the roundtable, including staffing and operational readiness, suggest those questions will be on the table. Selig’s statement that the CFTC will “not take a one‑size‑fits‑all approach” suggests the CFTC may treat asset classes differently, for example energy contracts tied to physical delivery differently from financial or crypto-linked products. The release does not say this, and firms will want to see the agenda.

The roundtable adds to a run of moves towards longer trading hours, which we have covered on equities venues such as Cboe EDGX and Deutsche Börse’s 360X.

What we are watching

• The agenda and speaker list, especially whether CME, ICE, the major FCMs and the clearing houses take part.
• Whether the CFTC says anything further on the NYMEX 24/7 oil contract, including the stay and CME’s separate approval filing.
• Any proposal or guidance that follows the roundtable.