FAQ: Spot-Quoted futures

Spot-Quoted futures are innovative, regulated contracts designed with today's self-directed active trader in mind.

Available on six key markets – Bitcoin, Ether, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and the Dow Jones industrial Average – these futures contracts are unique in that they trade at the same spot price (i.e., cash index level) as you'd see reported for their respective index or cryptocurrency on mainstream financial sites like CNBC and Yahoo Finance. 

While the contracts are quoted and traded at that price, they will include a financing adjustment at the end of the trading day to account for the financing component present in the futures market. Their expiration dates are set much further out than standard futures: expiring five years out rather than monthly or quarterly.

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There are a few reasons for why we have received strong demand to list Spot-Quoted futures. 

1. Notional size: Since the launch of Micro E-mini futures in 2019, we have seen the notional value of a Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contract grow from $20K to $45K. Spot-Quoted futures will be smaller and will allow participants to enter the futures market at notional values between $500 to $6K.
2. Spot pricing: This product allows clients to trade in and out of their position at the spot price, allowing for ease of understanding between the cash index level and the futures ecosystem. 
3. Reduced rolls: These futures contracts will be longer-dated in nature (~5 years) with a 2030 expiration date, so there won’t be a quarterly or monthly rolls as with other index-based futures.

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Spot-Quoted futures will be priced using the following equation:

Spot-Quoted futures cleared price = Spot-priced instrument + total financing adjustment 

Spot-priced instrument: This will be defined/determined by liquid markets and continuously adjusted based on current market dynamics. On screen, participants will be able to execute via two-sided bid and ask markets. 

Financing adjustment: Determined by actual market dynamics and made up of two components: Prior day total financing adjustment + today’s financing adjustment.

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Spot-Quoted futures call for the price to be quoted and negotiated at the “spot price.” Once the trade is consummated, the financing component will be added onto the agreed upon spot price to end up with the futures position price.

The Total Financing Adjustment level is historical since the launch of the product at which point it started at 0 (on launch date). 

Then, each day the total financing adjustment will be determined by looking at the change in the basis (Futures Settlement - Cash Settlement) and adding that to the previous day’s total financing adjustment. 

Note in this hypothetical example the SQF products launched on Jan. 1, 2024

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No, the accumulation of the total financing adjustment prior to a participant entering a position in the product does not matter. A client should only care about the change in total financing adjustment between when they enter the product and exit.

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We will list the following products at launch: Spot-Quoted S&P 500 futures, Spot-Quoted Nasdaq-100 futures, Spot-Quoted Russell 2000 futures, Spot-Quoted Dow futures, Spot-Quoted Bitcoin futures and Spot-Quoted Ether futures.

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Equity Index futures are typically quarterly listed futures contracts that cash-settle on the third Friday of the Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec quarterly cycle. The futures contracts are derived using the following formula:

= Cash [1+r (x/360)] - Dividends

Financing is present in Equity Index futures. 

Due to this equation, there is a difference between the cash index level that one would see when searching “S&P 500 Index Price” (or something similar). This differential between the spot index price and futures price will be further explained in this FAQ.

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CME: Spot-Quoted S&P 500, Spot-Quoted Nasdaq-100, Spot-Quoted Russell 2000, Spot-Quoted Bitcoin and Spot-Quoted Ether

CBOT: Spot-Quoted Dow

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Contract specifications can be found below.

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The longer-dated nature of the Spot-Quoted futures allows for participants to transact in the product at a duration of their choosing without the need to consider the quarterly/monthly expiration that is present in other index-based futures contracts.

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Daily settlement prices of the Spot-Quoted instrument that trades on Globex will be determined by the cash index settlement each day. For example, for the tradable Spot-Quoted Nasdaq-100 tradable futures instrument, settlement will be determined by the Nasdaq-100 Index settlement price. 

To determine the settlement price for the cleared instrument, CME Clearing will take the cash index level and apply the total financing adjustment.

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Due to the financing component included in this product, the spot price that is traded on Globex will not represent the cleared futures position that will be carried for the duration of your open position.

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Please reference the CME and CBOT Fee Schedule to view the latest fees. At launch, the fees will be as follows:

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A maintenance fee is a non-tradable fee that will be applied to open positions on the third Friday of the quarterly months (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) at the close of business on each respective Friday.

CME Group plans to waive the maintenance fee for all participants for a duration of at least 12 months, pending all regulatory approvals.

For example, if a participant is holding open interest in the Spot-Quoted S&P 500 futures on June 20, 2025, at the close of business, they will incur a maintenance fee as defined above.

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The margin requirements for Spot-Quoted futures will be notionally adjusted and in line with their E-mini and Micro E-mini counterparts.

Review the latest margins.

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Spot-Quoted futures positions will not be offsettable with their E-mini and Micro E-mini counterparts. Positions will never be collapsed by CME Clearing. Margins, however, may be offsettable with their E-mini and Micro E-mini counterparts (at their respective ratios).

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Live prices can be found via your front-end platform that accesses Globex data.

Delayed quotes will be available online on our website. You can also access quotes through major quote vendors.

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U.S. Equity Index price limits, and corresponding CME and CBOT rules, are designed to coordinate with circuit breakers provisions as applied by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Spot-Quoted futures will follow the same rules as other E-mini and Micro E-mini Equity contracts.

• 7%, 13% and 20% price limits are applied to the futures fixing price and are effective from 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CT, Mondays through Fridays. This only applies to the downside.
• 7% up-and-down limits are effective 5:00 p.m. - 8:30 a.m. CT. Sundays through Fridays; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT, Mondays through Fridays. Between 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT, the 7% price limit will not be allowed to breach the 20% daily limit.

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Our Cryptocurrency futures are subject to price limits on a dynamic basis. At the commencement of each trading day, Cryptocurrency futures are assigned a price limit variant, which equals a percentage of the prior day’s Exchange-determined settlement price, or a price deemed appropriate by the GCC. During the trading day, the dynamic variant is applied in rolling 60-minute look-back periods to establish dynamic lower and upper price fluctuation limits as follows:

• The dynamic variant is subtracted from the highest trade and/or bid price during a look-back period to establish the lower price fluctuation limit.
• The dynamic variant is added to the lowest trade and/or offer price during a look-back period to establish the upper price fluctuation limit.

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Visit cmegroup.com/spotquoted for the latest information. You can fill out the form on this page to stay informed of Spot-Quoted product updates.

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