The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday cleared perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks for trading on regulated US exchanges, bringing contracts without expiration dates into domestic markets. The clearance, dated November 3, 2026, allows traders to hold equity-linked positions indefinitely as long as they meet margin requirements.

Perpetual futures have long been a staple of cryptocurrency derivatives trading, and the CFTC's decision extends the format to US equities. The contracts carry no fixed expiry: positions remain open while traders maintain collateral, and they track share prices without transferring ownership of the underlying stocks. Until now, US traders have accessed the format through offshore venues; the clearance opens a regulated domestic route.

Joint Oversight by the CFTC and SEC

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the contracts were deemed approved under Regulation 40.3 following a 45-day review. Under the rule, products are deemed approved once the review period closes without an objection from the agency. Their classification as security futures places them under the joint oversight of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Exchanges seeking to list the products must hold CFTC registration and SEC authorization for security futures.

Selig said the move could reduce reliance on "offshore, and often unregulated, venues." The agency previously approved Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual contract in May.

Stock Price Exposure Without Ownership

Kalshi's September filing covers 58 contracts linked to individual stocks and exchange-traded funds, including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, Microsoft and Alibaba, along with funds tracking major US indexes. Trading runs from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon, Eastern time.

Holders receive no voting rights and no direct dividends, so the contracts — like Kraken's tokenized stock offerings — provide stock price exposure without the attributes of share ownership.

Because the contracts have no expiry, periodic payments are used to keep contract prices near underlying stock prices. When futures trade above share prices, buyers pay sellers. The mechanism mirrors the funding-rate system that anchors perpetual contracts to spot prices in cryptocurrency markets. Coinbase Derivatives has proposed hourly funding payments capped at 0.10%. Positions can stay open indefinitely provided traders maintain the required margin, and extended trading hours allow prices to move at times when ordinary stock exchanges are closed.

Separately, Chainlink's weekend stock pricing service uses perpetual futures quotes to value tokenized collateral while stock markets are closed, and Aave Horizon is adopting the service.

Leverage Rules Raise Concerns About Losses

Kalshi requires traders to maintain collateral worth at least 15.5% of a contract's market value, which means traders can control positions worth several times their deposits.

Advocacy group Better Markets warned on November 2 that leverage amplifies losses during sharp declines. Benjamin Schiffrin, the group's securities policy director, said automatic liquidations can close positions before customers have a chance to add funds. The organization estimated that a 20% stock decline could erase a position built with fivefold leverage, and it also questioned whether perpetual contracts meet the definition of futures — a definitional question that remains unresolved.

More Exchanges Plan Around-the-Clock Trading

Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial also submitted stock perpetual plans in September, adding further US competitors seeking traders previously served by offshore platforms.

Meanwhile, ICE — the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange — announced a partnership on October 29 for a proposed Hyperliquid perpetual futures venture with TradeXYZ that would cover stocks and other assets, pending regulatory approval. Decisions on that proposal and on the pending Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial filings will help determine how widely the format extends across US regulated markets.