The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has extended the public comment period for its proposed rule on 24/7 futures trading and perpetual contracts tied to energy commodities. The new deadline is August 26, 2026, giving market participants an additional 30 days to submit responses.

Commenters had requested more time, and the CFTC also added several new questions to the original request for information following extensive discussions with industry stakeholders. As the U.S. derivatives regulator, the CFTC's review is significant for exchanges, clearing firms, energy companies, and trading platforms that rely on contract rules for market access, risk management, settlement, and delivery processes.

Scope of the Proposal

The proposed rule addresses two separate but related issues in energy derivatives markets.

The first concerns standard futures contracts transitioning to round-the-clock trading. While these contracts would retain their fixed expiration dates, delivery and settlement terms could undergo material changes under the new structure. For physically delivered or storable energy commodities, changes to trading hours can raise practical questions about margining, liquidity, operational readiness, and how contract obligations are handled outside traditional market sessions.

The second involves perpetual contracts. Specifically, the CFTC is examining perpetuals that reference physically delivered or storable energy commodities. Unlike standard futures, perpetual contracts carry no expiration date — a distinction that has shaped much of the debate surrounding the proposal.

@CFTC Extends Public Comment Period on Proposed Rule on the Extension of Standard Futures Contracts to 24/7 Trading and on Perpetual Contracts Referencing Physically Delivered or Storable Energy Commodities: — CFTC (@CFTC) July 23, 2026

New Questions Added After Industry Engagement

Before extending the deadline, the Commission held extensive conversations with industry stakeholders. Those discussions prompted regulators to add fresh questions to the original request for comment. The CFTC stated that this step would help the agency fully understand the issues and complete proper due diligence before moving forward.

The original request already carried a wide scope. The 30-day extension gives energy firms, exchanges, and trading platforms additional room to weigh in before the August 26 cutoff. Public comment periods are a core part of U.S. agency rulemaking, allowing affected market participants to submit technical, legal, and operational feedback before regulators decide whether and how to finalize a proposal.

CFTC Chair Addressed Perpetual Contract Criticism

CFTC Chair Mike Selig previously addressed several misconceptions about perpetual futures contracts, according to a June report from LiveBitcoinNews. He pushed back on claims related to contract law, leverage limits, and funding rate costs.

One criticism centered on public input. Critics argued the CFTC gave the industry no opportunity to weigh in on perpetual contract structure before approval. Selig disputed this directly, pointing to a public request for comment the agency issued in April 2025 covering both perpetual contracts and 24/7 trading — the same proposal now receiving its extended comment window.

That April 2025 request forms the backbone of the current rule under review. The extended deadline builds on that earlier public input process, giving the industry additional time to respond to the Commission's questions on both fronts.

Energy market participants, exchanges, and other stakeholders now have until August 26, 2026, to submit their input before the CFTC moves toward a final rule.