CFTC Clears Equity Perpetual Futures for Trading on US Exchanges
The CFTC says perpetual futures on individual stocks can list on dual-registered US exchanges, while critics flag leverage risks and a pending CME lawsuit.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Tuesday that perpetual futures tied to individual stocks can begin trading on US-regulated exchanges for the first time. Bitcoin Magazine and The Cryptonomist put the date at November 3, 2026. The product had previously been available to Americans mainly through offshore crypto venues.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig calls the contracts "Equity Perps." He said they were "deemed approved" under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products. According to BeInCrypto, that rule clears a new product once the agency's 45-day review window passes.
Who can list them and how they work
Only exchanges holding both a CFTC designated contract market registration and an SEC notice registration as a national securities exchange for security futures can list the contracts, per Bitcoin Magazine and The Cryptonomist. Because they are classed as security futures, the SEC shares oversight with the CFTC.
Perpetual futures have no expiry date. Funding payments between long and short traders keep the contract price near the underlying price. BeInCrypto reports that in the design filed by Coinbase Derivatives, buyers pay sellers when the contract trades above the stock, at up to 0.10% an hour.
Bitcoin Magazine notes the CFTC statement names no exchange, lists no contracts and sets no launch date. It says those details are expected from the exchanges. BeInCrypto reports that Kalshi filed on September 18 for 58 contracts covering 55 stocks, including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Microsoft, plus two index funds. Holders would get price exposure only, with no shares, dividends or voting rights, according to Better Markets.
Leverage concerns and legal pushback
BeInCrypto says Kalshi would let traders hold a position by posting 15.5% of its value. Better Markets' Benjamin Schiffrin wrote on November 2 that offshore single-stock perpetuals offer up to 20x leverage, while SEC-approved single-stock ETFs are generally capped at 2x. US versions would reportedly allow up to 6x. By Better Markets' math, a 20% drop wipes out a 5x position.
The CFTC's authority is also being challenged. Bitcoin Magazine reports that CME Group sued the agency in June over its approval of Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual (BTC), arguing that a contract with funding payments is a swap, not a future. That case is pending. The outlet says an equity version adds SEC jurisdiction and could draw objections from securities-side participants.
What to watch
Traders should watch which exchanges actually list the contracts, and on what terms. Margin requirements, funding rate caps and trading hours may differ by venue. BeInCrypto reports Kalshi's proposed hours run from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, US Eastern time.
The CME lawsuit is the main legal risk to monitor. So is any response from the SEC or from securities-industry groups. Bitcoin Magazine adds that the approval follows Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual, approved May 29, and its gold and silver perpetuals added in September. It also says Selig cited the recent Binance hot-wallet theft, which the outlet puts at about $6.3 billion, to argue for regulated venues.
Sources
- CFTC APPROVES FIRST EQUITY PERPETUAL FUTURES CONTRACTS FOR TRADING ON U.S. EXCHANGES | AI comment unfolded
- CFTC Just Opened America’s Stock Market to Perpetual Futures BeInCrypto
- CFTC Opens U.S. Stock Market to Equity Perpetual Futures Bitcoin Magazine
- CFTC clears perpetual futures on stocks, bringing crypto trading model to Wall Street CoinDesk
- Equity perpetual futures can trade on U.S. exchanges from November 3, 2026 The Cryptonomist
- CFTC approves individual stock perpetual futures trading in US for the first time The Block
Written with AI assistance from the sources above and checked against them. Not investment advice.