The CFTC said perpetual futures on individual stocks can now trade on U.S.-regulated exchanges for the first time. The statement names no exchange and sets no launch date, and a CME Group lawsuit over the Kalshi bitcoin perp approval is pending.
Perpetual futures on individual stocks can begin trading on U.S.-regulated exchanges for the first time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday. A year ago, the product was confined to offshore crypto venues.
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig called the contracts Equity Perps and said they were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products. They may list on exchanges that hold a CFTC designated contract market registration and a notice registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a national securities exchange.
What the approval leaves open
The statement names no exchange, lists no contracts and sets no launch date. Those details are expected to come from the designated contract markets themselves.
Perpetual futures have no expiration date. Longs and shorts instead exchange periodic funding payments that keep the contract price tied to spot.
From bitcoin perps to stock perps
The move follows an earlier step. The CFTC approved the first U.S.-listed bitcoin perpetual, Kalshi's BTCPERP, on May 29, and Selig described the equity contracts as an extension of that decision beyond digital commodities and into traditional securities.
The legal basis is older. According to Crypto Briefing, the development draws on the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the CFTC-SEC Memorandum of Understanding, and Selig said differences between the agencies' approaches had previously left security futures without a clear path to market.
Not everyone accepts the CFTC's reading. CME Group sued the agency in June over the Kalshi approval, arguing that a contract built on exchanged funding payments is a swap under Dodd-Frank, not a future. That case is pending, and an equity version adds the SEC's jurisdiction and may draw new objections from securities-side participants.
Selig pitches onshore access
Selig said the move means Americans no longer need to turn to offshore venues. According to Bitcoin Magazine, he framed the choice as one between regulated access and being forced to "turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues."
Sources: Bitcoin Magazine, Crypto Briefing
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
