Key Highlights
- Kalshi submitted applications to the SEC and CFTC for perpetual futures contracts on major U.S. equities and ETFs.
- Trading hours would extend approximately 23 hours daily on business days with a required 15.50% minimum margin for customers.
- Proposed contracts include major stocks like Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, along with ETFs SPY and QQQ.
- Coinbase and Bitnomial submitted rival applications for stock perpetuals on the identical date.
- Regulatory approval from the CFTC is still pending for all three proposals.
Kalshi has submitted applications to regulators to introduce perpetual futures contracts—a product format popularized in cryptocurrency markets—to major U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds.
On September 18, the platform filed its proposed regulations with both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
These instruments would function as security futures and would not have a predetermined expiration date.
Kalshi’s submissions encompass contracts for some of America’s most prominent stocks and ETFs, such as Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, along with the popular SPY and QQQ funds.
Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading Proposed by Kalshi
According to the filing, market hours would begin at 6 p.m. ET Sunday evening and continue through 5 p.m. ET Friday afternoon.
A one-hour maintenance period would occur daily between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET.
Settlement would occur in cash rather than requiring physical delivery of underlying shares.
Funding rate adjustments would typically occur at 4 p.m. ET, coinciding with traditional U.S. stock market closing times.
The platform has proposed requiring customers to maintain a minimum margin of 15.50% based on their position’s prevailing market value.
Standard contracts would correspond to 100 shares of the reference security, though smaller contract sizes may also become available.
Clearing operations would be handled by Kalshi Klear, the company’s registered derivatives clearing organization.
Trading would be suspended whenever the underlying security faces a mandatory regulatory halt.
Rival Applications from Coinbase and Bitnomial
Kalshi faces competition in its effort to introduce perpetual futures on American equities.
Coinbase Derivatives submitted its own security-futures application on September 18.
The application includes cash-settled perpetual futures for both individual equities and ETFs.
According to CFTC documentation, Coinbase’s single-stock perpetual application remains under review.
Bitnomial has also filed a distinct proposal outlining security-futures listing criteria and margin requirements for customers.
Their proposed contracts cover stocks including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Broadcom, Micron, Alphabet, and Palantir.
Bitnomial’s plan calls for continuous trading five days per week with a minimum margin requirement of 15.25%.
Payward, Kraken’s corporate parent, intends to utilize Bitnomial’s regulated framework to offer U.S. perpetual products pending regulatory authorization.
Awaiting CFTC Authorization
Kalshi’s proposed regulations have a scheduled effective date of November 2, subject to CFTC regulatory requirements.
This scheduled date does not constitute formal approval of the products.
As of September 20, the CFTC’s public records indicated Kalshi’s equity perpetual applications remained pending approval.
Kalshi currently offers perpetual contracts for cryptocurrency assets, including a Bitcoin product that received CFTC authorization in May.
The proposed equity products must navigate a distinct regulatory pathway because individual stocks are classified as securities.
These submissions represent a coordinated push by Kalshi, Coinbase, and Bitnomial to introduce cryptocurrency-inspired perpetual contracts for conventional U.S. equities.
Until regulatory approval is secured, all three platforms must wait before launching their proposed equity perpetual products.
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