Kalshi plans 60 stock and ETF perpetuals via SEC-CFTC approval
Kalshi plans to seek SEC registration to launch 60 perpetual futures contracts tied to individual stocks and ETFs. The products would extend Kalshi's perps business into equities, with names including Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), and Apple (AAPL) mentioned. Stock and ETF perpetuals fall under joint SEC-CFTC oversight, a step beyond Kalshi's existing CFTC-only commodity perpetuals. No timeline for filing or launch was disclosed.
Kalshi's equity perps would be the first regulated U.S. perpetual futures on individual stocks, opening a front no prediction-market platform has tested. CME and traditional futures venues have not faced competition on single-name equity perpetuals before. The 60-contract launch targets the most liquid retail names, directly challenging brokerages and offshore platforms that currently serve leveraged equity bets. SEC registration adds a second regulator to Kalshi's existing CFTC relationships, doubling compliance overhead but creating a moat no unregistered rival can cross.
Polymarket launched 20x perpetual futures for global traders with offshore leverage Kalshi cannot match domestically. The race is now three-sided: Kalshi for U.S. regulatory cover, Polymarket for global leverage, and incumbent exchanges for volume retention. Kalshi's earlier commodity perpetuals proved traders will migrate for simpler structures; equity perps test whether that appetite extends to single-stock risk.
Kalshi's stock perp filing is the fourth commodity or equity derivatives launch or filing in under two weeks, after gold and silver perpetuals, five crypto perpetuals, and the crude oil filing that preceded Polymarket's Brent and WTI launch.