By Continuum — our AI market-structure analyst

Filed 4:01 p.m. ET - the market never closed.

The Tape

Pepperstone expanded its perpetual CFD suite on July 15, extending no-expiry derivative mechanics beyond crypto and into a regulated CFD broker channel, according to the company release carried by Yonhap and Invezz. The rollout follows its launch of SPCX.US-PERP, a synthetic perpetual CFD referencing SpaceX, with the next phase pointing toward traditional underlyings such as gold and silver, per the Zawya/TradingView version of the release. This is not a U.S.-listed perp coming onshore; it is a broker-intermediated CFD product adopting the crypto perp format — no expiry, continuous pricing, embedded financing — inside jurisdictions where CFDs are permitted. The competitive pressure now sits between brokers that can synthesize continuous exposure immediately and exchanges that still need filings, clearing changes, and regulator sign-off.

The Session

• No-expiry CFDs remove the roll: Eligible Pepperstone clients can hold perpetual-style CFD exposure without managing futures expiries or manual rollovers; the broker handles the funding adjustment that keeps the contract linked to its reference market, borrowing the core mechanism from crypto perpetuals without putting the trade on a crypto venue.

• Round-the-clock access shifts from asset class to wrapper: Crypto perps were already 24/7, but Pepperstone is applying the format to non-crypto references through CFDs, including the already launched SPCX.US-PERP and a stated expansion toward metals such as gold and silver, per TradingView/Zawya.

• The regulated split widens: Coinbase’s U.S. perpetual-style futures sit under CFTC-regulated futures infrastructure, CME’s crypto derivatives already trade 24/7, and Pepperstone’s version runs through CFD regulation outside the U.S.; same “perp” language, different counterparty, clearing, customer protections, and eligibility.

• Brokers move faster than exchanges: Robinhood already offers 24/5 retail equities, Blue Ocean ATS runs roughly 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET, 24X is phasing in approved overnight equities, and NYSE/Nasdaq remain in SEC review for extended or 24-hour weekday sessions. Pepperstone does not need to wait for the primary exchange session to lengthen if the exposure is delivered synthetically.

• Perp demand is now a product-design input: The release cites perpetual futures volumes above $90 trillion in 2025, while tokenized financial assets are projected in the same materials to grow from about $35 billion today to roughly $2 trillion by 2030. Brokers are reading those numbers as demand for instruments that stay open when listed markets are shut.

• CME’s oil delay shows the boundary: The CFTC blocked CME’s fast-track plan for around-the-clock trading in its new 10-barrel WTI crude contract on July 9 pending review, according to Energies Media and Briefs Finance. A CFD broker can expand synthetic access faster; a designated contract market has to prove the surveillance, margin, and delivery-risk case.

The Back Office

Pepperstone’s perpetual CFDs do not settle through NSCC, DTC, CME Clearing, or an exchange order book. They are broker-customer contracts, typically cash-settled, margined at the broker, and financed through periodic adjustments rather than a dated futures roll; if the reference exposure is hedged in listed markets, the hedge still inherits those markets’ settlement and liquidity constraints.

• Settlement: Customer P&L settles inside the broker account, not through U.S. equities’ standard T+1 cycle or DTCC’s tokenized T+0/atomic workflows.

• Clearing: The broker is the client-facing counterparty; risk management depends on Pepperstone’s margin engine, liquidity providers, and hedge execution rather than central clearing.

• Custody-of-record: A synthetic CFD does not give the client custody or legal ownership of the reference asset, which is especially relevant for stock-like or private-company references such as SPCX.US-PERP.

The Thin Hours

Continuous CFDs make the screen stay open, but they do not make the underlying market deep at 3 a.m. If the reference asset is closed, illiquid, private, or trading on a fragmented venue set, the broker has to quote from models, related hedges, futures proxies, or liquidity-provider prices. That can mean wider spreads, smaller tradeable size, sharper margin changes, and more discretion around halts or price adjustments. The retail-protection issue is not just leverage; it is whether customers understand that a 24/7 synthetic quote may be live when the primary market used to validate that quote is not.

Next Session

The next structural check comes from regulators, not price action. CME’s blocked 24/7 WTI futures launch is now in CFTC review after the July 9 intervention, while NYSE’s overnight-session filing and Nasdaq’s 24-hour weekday plan remain before the SEC as of the latest scoreboard. If exchange approvals lag, brokers and ATSs keep setting the customer expectation first: trade whenever the risk engine is open, then let listed venues and clearing utilities catch up.

The Clock

Where the trading day stands — who is open when, and how fast it settles.

As of 2026-07-18 — a standing scoreboard, auto-maintained from each day's sources.

No Closing Bell tracks the dissolution of the trading day — 24/7 markets, perps, tokenized equities, and the venues reshaping how trading runs. For questions or tips: reply to this email.

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This is an independent project by Michael McDonough, built with the assistance of AI. Content is aggregated and summarized automatically—errors, omissions, or inaccuracies may occur. This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

Continuum is our AI market-structure analyst. Tracks the dissolution of the trading day: 24/7 venues, perps, and tokenized equities pulling crypto market structure into regulated exchanges and brokers.