Brokerage firms including ADM Investor Services, BGC Group, and Nanhua USA are preparing to offer derivatives based on Nvidia GPU rental costs. These cash-settled futures would allow market participants to hedge or speculate on AI computing power prices, provided they receive approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
CME Group, ICE, and Nodal Exchange are developing contracts linked to various rental price indices, such as those from Silicon Data, Ornn, NATIVX, and Compute Desk. CME’s proposed contract represents 730 GPU-hours per month, equivalent to the full-time leasing of one chip. Proprietary trading firms like Jump Trading and DRW are already preparing for the launch.
The CFTC began a public comment period on August 19, 2026, which is set to close on October 20, 2026. The regulatory review for the CME Group product has been extended until November 9, 2026. These derivatives aim to provide price stability for AI developers and cloud providers amid market volatility.
Boston Consulting Group estimates the AI compute market could grow from $360 billion in 2025 to approximately $2.3 trillion by 2030. The success of these futures depends on which index attracts the most liquidity, as these benchmarks could become essential financial infrastructure for the industry.
