Kalshi Files for Single-Stock Perpetual Futures in the US, Joining Coinbase and Kraken in a Derivatives Push

Kalshi Submits Proposal for US Single-Stock Perpetual Futures

Prediction-market platform Kalshi has formally requested regulatory approval to introduce perpetual futures contracts linked to individual US equities. The company filed a proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission and simultaneously submitted the document to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for approval on Friday. As of the latest reporting, the CFTC has not yet granted final approval to the proposal.

Under the proposed framework, the contracts would carry no fixed expiration date. Instead, a mechanism of periodic funding payments exchanged between long and short holders would be used to keep the contract price anchored to the price of the underlying stock. Kalshi indicated that these instruments would be classified as security futures products and would be cleared through Kalshi Klear, its CFTC-registered clearinghouse.

The move is notable because Kalshi already operates a suite of crypto perpetual futures products available to US clients. The platform offers perpetual contracts on Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP). Its Bitcoin perpetual contract received CFTC approval back in May, establishing a precedent for the type of derivative structure it now seeks to extend into the equity space.

Coinbase and Kraken File Similar Proposals

Kalshi was not acting alone. On the same day, Coinbase submitted its own separate proposal to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks, signaling a coordinated industry push to transplant a derivatives format long popular in cryptocurrency markets into traditional equities.

A third entrant, Payward — the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken — also filed through its Bitnomial Exchange with plans to offer the same product category. Payward said it intends to initially list perpetual futures on ten US equities, naming Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon among the first batch. The company added that it is working toward enabling 24/5 trading hours for the contracts.

The convergence of filings from a prediction-market operator, a major crypto exchange, and a crypto-exchange parent underscores how quickly the perpetual-futures model is migrating from its crypto-native roots into the broader US financial landscape.

Regulatory Backdrop: CLARITY Act Stalls, SEC Signals Independent Action

The cluster of filings arrived within days of a significant legislative setback. On September 15, the CLARITY Act — a bill aimed at establishing a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets — failed to advance in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes required to move forward.

Just one day after that vote, SEC Chair Paul Atkins addressed the regulatory vacuum, stating that "with or without legislation," his agency would "act decisively" within its existing statutory authority to deliver regulatory certainty to American investors and entrepreneurs. His remarks were widely read as a signal that the SEC would not wait for Congress to provide a comprehensive digital-asset law before taking steps to clarify the rules governing crypto-linked products.

In that context, the CFTC's potential approval of Kalshi's, Coinbase's, and Bitnomial's proposals could represent a practical first step in bringing a well-defined, regulated form of stock-adjacent derivatives to US retail and institutional traders — even in the absence of broader legislative action.