Kalshi files to offer perpetual futures on individual US stocks
Kalshi asks US regulators to approve stock-linked perpetual futures
Prediction market Kalshi has filed a proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission and submitted it to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for approval. The proposal, filed Friday, would let US traders buy perpetual futures tied to individual stocks. The CFTC has not yet approved it.
Perpetual futures are contracts with no set expiry date. Instead of settling on a fixed date, buyers and sellers make regular funding payments to each other to keep the contract price close to the price of the underlying stock.
What Kalshi's filing proposes
- Kalshi said the contracts would be treated as security futures products.
- The contracts would have no preset expiration date.
- Periodic funding payments between long and short positions would keep prices aligned with the underlying stocks.
- Trading would be cleared through Kalshi Klear, Kalshi's CFTC-registered clearinghouse.
- Kalshi already offers perpetual futures on Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP in the US, after the CFTC approved its Bitcoin perpetual contract in May.
Three companies filed for similar products
Kalshi's filing came the same day Coinbase submitted a separate proposal to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks. Both companies are trying to bring a derivatives product that is popular in crypto markets into traditional equities.
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, also filed through its Bitnomial Exchange. Payward said it plans to initially offer perpetual futures on 10 US equities, including Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, and is working toward 24/5 trading. The products would be available to US traders on Kraken.
Filings follow stalled crypto legislation
The filings came days after the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the US Senate on September 15, falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. A day after that vote, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said that “with or without legislation,” the agency would “act decisively” within its existing statutory authority to provide regulatory certainty for American investors and entrepreneurs.
What is confirmed and what is not
Confirmed: Kalshi filed the proposal with the SEC and CFTC on Friday, and the CFTC has not approved it. Kalshi already offers crypto perpetual futures in the US after CFTC approval in May. Coinbase and Payward filed separate proposals for similar products.
Not confirmed: Whether regulators will approve any of the proposals, and on what timeline. The article does not report a review period or decision deadline. Payward's list of 10 initial equities and its 24/5 trading goal are the company's stated plans, not approved outcomes.
Why this matters
Perpetual futures are one of the most heavily traded products in crypto markets. If approved for single stocks, they would give US traders a way to bet on share prices without owning the shares and without contracts expiring. The filings also show companies moving ahead with derivatives expansion even while Congress has not passed new crypto legislation.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.