Kalshi files for perpetual futures tied to US stocks, joins Coinbase in race to bring crypto-native trading to equities

Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market turned derivatives platform, has filed proposals to offer perpetual futures contracts tied to individual US stocks and ETFs. The filing, submitted around September 18, 2026, would bring a trading instrument born in crypto markets to the world of traditional equities.

Coinbase Derivatives dropped its own CFTC filing on the same date, seeking approval for nearly identical products.

What’s actually being proposed

Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are derivatives contracts that never expire. Unlike traditional futures that settle on a specific date, perps use periodic funding payments to keep their price tethered to the underlying asset.

Kalshi’s proposed contracts would be cash-settled, meaning no shares change hands at any point. They would track up to 58 large-cap US stocks and ETFs, all with market capitalizations north of $100B. Names like Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia are on the list. The contracts would carry minimum margins of around 15.5% and would not confer any ownership rights or dividend entitlements. Kalshi plans to clear these products through Kalshi Klear, its own CFTC-registered clearinghouse, using its existing central limit order book infrastructure.

Coinbase Derivatives is targeting a similar scope, with its filing covering single-stock and ETF perpetual futures on roughly 50 to 60 liquid US equities. Its proposed contracts would operate on a 24/5 schedule with hourly funding rate adjustments.

From crypto perps to equity perps

Both Kalshi and Coinbase received CFTC approval for crypto perps back in May 2026. Now both platforms are making the logical next move: if the regulatory framework works for crypto underlyings, why not apply it to equities?

CME Group has been engaged in litigation challenging the regulatory framework that enables perpetual futures products. CME’s argument essentially questions whether the current regulatory structure properly accounts for the unique risks of never-expiring contracts.

Why this matters for markets

For retail traders, the 24/5 trading schedule is a selling point. US stock markets close at 4 PM Eastern, and a perpetual contract trading nearly around the clock gives participants the ability to react to overnight news, earnings releases, or geopolitical events without waiting for the opening bell.

The 15.5% margin requirement suggests these contracts are designed for leveraged but not reckless exposure, roughly 6x leverage at the margin floor.

No perpetual futures product tied to equities has actually launched in the US market. Both filings require joint oversight from the SEC and CFTC, since the underlying assets are securities, which triggers a security futures regulatory framework rather than a pure commodity futures process. The Shad-Johnson Accord, the decades-old agreement governing jurisdiction over security futures, adds another wrinkle to the regulatory picture.