Spain’s
markets regulator wants spot-quoted futures and perpetual futures sold to local
retail clients treated as contracts for difference, the Cyprus Securities and
Exchange Commission (CySEC) told the firms it licenses today (Wednesday).
The
position, relayed at the request of Spain’s Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), places the
futures-labeled products under the country’s leverage caps, advertising ban,
and other retail CFD restrictions.
What the Notice Actually
Changes
In a short
circular, CySEC said
the CNMV holds the view that spot-quoted futures, known as SQFs, must count as
CFDs for regulatory purposes.
That
reading subjects them to the CNMV resolutions of 2019 and July 2023, the latter
of which banned CFD advertising to retail clients in Spain and
curbed certain sales practices.
The notice
sets no deadline and adds no reporting duty.
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What is new
is the explicit reach, covering SQFs, “perpetual futures, or analogue
products,” language absent from CySEC’s October 2023 notice on the same rules.
A Position That Traces
Back to ESMA
The
instruction tracks a statement the European Securities and Markets Authority
issued on Feb. 24, which told firms that perpetual futures meeting the CFD
definition already
fall under the bloc’s intervention measures.
ESMA said
the assessment applies “irrespective of their commercial name.” Under
the CFD regime, retail crypto leverage is capped at 2:1, far below the multiples crypto venues advertise.
A Cyprus
firm had already asked ESMA in mid-2025 how perpetual futures should be
treated, so the question has been live across the industry for the better part
of a year.
Where the Labels Came From
The SQF
name entered the market through CME Group, which listed bitcoin, ether, and equity
index versions on
June 30, 2025. The exchange described them as “designed with similar
features of perpetual contracts.”
CME’s
contracts are exchange-traded and overseen by the US Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, which keeps them outside the CNMV’s reach.
Spain’s
test targets the over-the-counter products that brokers market to retail
clients under the same labels.
For Cyprus
firms, which passport heavily into Spain, the message is less a rule change
than a signal. The request came from Madrid, which usually means the CNMV has
seen the products it just named being sold across its border.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
SOURCE LINK : Spain Treats Spot-Quoted and Perpetual Futures as CFDs in Notice to Cyprus Brokers
