Perpetual CFDs bring 24/7 trading to regulated markets

Pepperstone launched perpetual contracts for difference in 2026 that use a funding-rate mechanism to provide continuous, no-expiry exposure to equities, commodities and pre-IPO instruments outside normal exchange hours. The product applies a funding rate to produce continuous pricing and a daily financing charge instead of a fixed expiry and roll.

The product builds on Pepperstone’s earlier 24/7 crypto CFDs and extended-hours U.S. share CFDs. The broker operates under multiple global licences and processes more than $1 trillion in monthly trading volume across forex, indices, commodities and share CFDs. The firm offers the new perpetual CFDs to retail and professional clients without requiring crypto custody or access to offshore venue infrastructure.

Market participants have sought always-on trading as retail activity has spread across time zones. Traditional exchanges operate on weekday schedules, creating overnight and weekend gaps when assets can reprice before markets reopen. Crypto venues supplied continuous pricing for years; more than $3 billion of volume traded on SpaceX perpetuals before its public listing, illustrating demand for continuous access to pre-IPO names.

Perpetual CFDs differ from conventional spot CFDs. A spot CFD mirrors an underlying asset and carries an overnight swap as a daily financing cost. A crypto-style perpetual typically uses a peer-to-peer funding rate paid between long and short holders to align the contract with spot. Pepperstone sets the applicable funding rate in advance each week and applies it as a daily overnight swap, giving traders a known charge schedule while keeping the funding-rate signal that reflects market directional pressure.

When funding rates are near zero, carry costs can be lower for short-term traders; when rates rise during high-sentiment periods, financing costs can increase for positions held over several days. Pepperstone currently lists perpetual CFDs across single-stock equities, major indices and commodities and plans to expand the instrument set as client demand grows. Pre-IPO instruments are a near-term extension cited by clients tracking private technology companies.

Market infrastructure has adapted: several venues extended trading hours and settlement systems have been adjusted to handle overnight activity, but regulated exchanges still limit Saturday and Sunday trading. Tokenized real-world-asset derivatives and continuously priced products have grown rapidly this year, with tokenized RWA derivative volume rising more than 200% year-to-date and weekend trading contributing materially to totals.

Operational risk on some offshore venues has been recorded. One pre-IPO perpetual contract fell about 45% in a single session after faulty oracle data handling. Pepperstone offers perpetual CFDs as a regulated alternative for clients seeking continuous exposure without on-chain custody, using execution, risk management and margining systems developed from its crypto CFD infrastructure and extended-hours share trading.