Cboe Seeks SEC Approval for Near‑24×5 U.S. Equity Trading and New Prediction‑Market Contracts

Why It Matters

If approved, Cboe’s near‑24×5 market would give options and futures traders continuous access to the underlying equities, enabling overnight hedging, price discovery and arbitrage that are currently limited to pre‑market and after‑hours windows. The move could shift volume from traditional exchanges, pressure data providers to improve latency, and force regulators to revisit market‑stability safeguards for a market that never truly closes. The parallel launch of partial‑payout prediction contracts expands the derivative toolbox beyond binary events, echoing recent experiments by Kalshi and ICE. By allowing graded outcomes, these contracts could attract retail and institutional participants seeking more nuanced exposure, potentially increasing liquidity in related options series and prompting other venues to develop competing products.

Key Takeaways

• Cboe proposes near‑24×5 trading on EDGX, covering all NMS stocks from Sun 9 p.m. ET to Fri 8 p.m. ET with a 1‑hour pause Mon‑Thu
• Target launch set for December 2026, pending SEC sign‑off and infrastructure readiness
• ADV in Cboe’s early‑trading hours grew 590% between Feb 2022 and Feb 2026, showing strong demand for off‑hours liquidity
• Cboe’s four U.S. exchanges accounted for 20.2% of on‑exchange equity volume in 2025, underscoring its market‑share leverage
• New partial‑payout prediction contracts aim to capture non‑binary outcomes, a product class already explored by Kalshi and ICE

Pulse Analysis

The core tension in Cboe’s filing is between the promise of a truly global, always‑on equity market and the practical hurdles of regulation, technology and market‑structure risk. On one side, Cboe argues that its decades‑long experience running 24×5 FX and index‑options markets equips it to extend that resilience to equities, offering investors the ability to hedge or reposition as news breaks in Asia or Europe. On the other, the SEC must assess whether continuous trading could exacerbate volatility, create fragmented liquidity, or undermine existing circuit‑breaker mechanisms that were designed for a market with a defined close. Historical precedents—such as the limited success of extended‑hours trading on NYSE Arca and the recent rise of after‑hours options—suggest that liquidity can be thin and price discovery uneven, especially for less‑traded stocks. Cboe’s 590% surge in early‑trading volume signals appetite, but the jump also reflects a concentration in high‑beta, large‑cap names that may not translate to the broader market.

The introduction of partial‑payout prediction contracts adds another layer of complexity. By moving beyond binary win/lose outcomes, these instruments could blur the line between traditional options and event‑driven bets, raising questions about classification, margining and investor protection. Competitors like Kalshi have already secured SEC approval for binary contracts, but Cboe’s graded‑payout model may attract regulators’ scrutiny over fairness and transparency. If the SEC grants approval, the combined effect of near‑continuous equity trading and richer prediction products could accelerate the convergence of equity, options and event markets, prompting a re‑evaluation of pricing models, risk‑management frameworks, and the role of market data providers. In the short term, the market will watch Cboe’s infrastructure rollout and the SEC’s feedback loop; in the longer view, the success or failure of this initiative could set the template for a new era of always‑on derivatives trading.